An Alternate Life
by Divinely Ethereal
Summary: Ch12:She turned back to him, her eyes no longer betraying any haughtiness or even loss, just sadness and sincerity and a great desire to have something in which to believe. " So you will protect me from zis world?"
1. Chapter 1: A New Birth

**An Alternate Life**

_**A/N: For the umpteenth time, I don't own Tekken.**_

_**I know what I wrote was wishful thinking, but I **_

_**still enjoyed writing it. Once again people, I'll**_

_**ask you to be nice and REVIEW.**_

**A New Birth**

_Winter, one year after KOIF2_

Kazuya sighed, reaching out to his bedridden wife and tucking away a few damp, stray strands of her raven hair. The worst was over, he had been told; she would be up and about in no time. History would not repeat itself; his beloved Jun would not die from any complications of childbirth.

This was America, he reminded himself, the Land of Opportunity where marvels and miracles were commonplace, where anyone could afford to start anew, even after being expelled from their homeland and disowned by their family. It had not been difficult for Kazuya Mishima to turn over a fresh leaf, not for someone of his calibur, whose reputation preceded him. A mere one year in America had seen the uprooted Mishimas blending into the upper-middle class American society, although they still upholded their own customs, and kept well to themselves. And now, there were two unexpected additions to the tiny Mishima family...

A loud cry startled Kazuya from the depth of his thoughts. Jun was sitting up in bed, attempting to pacify the two precious infants she and Kazuya had jointly created. They were fraternal twins: a boy who whimpered quietly while his sister practically pierced their eardrums with her screams. Jun smiled up at Kazuya, who was looking at his wailing daughter with apparent distaste." Hold them, will you?" And Kazuya found himself handling two squirming infants. " Hush, you loud mouthed thing," was the first thing he whispered to his newborn daughter, out of sheer irritation. Much to his surprise, she instantly ceased screaming and flailing her tiny fists at him. She and her twin both looked up at their father, their dark eyes round with curiosity at this being who was different from their mother, yet strangely familiar to them. Kazuya held their innocent gaze, smoothed their tufts of dark hair and ran a finger along their soft, delicate skin. A slow, reluctant smile softened his grim features.

" They are so tiny," he finally conceded with barely suppressed awe.

" The doctors say that twins are smaller than single births. What should we call them?"

Kazuya looked at each of his children in turn. His son's gaze intrigued him. There was something there: a great wisdom, ancient and uncorrupted ; a wisdom that reminded him, with a sudden jolt of nostalgia, of his late grandfather Jinpachi Mishima, who had in his time, bestowed endless acts of kindness on his only grandson. "Jin," Kazuya said slowly, before riveting his gaze to his daughter. He recalled how she had been flailing her fists at him, like a caged bird longing to soar in freedom. "-and Asuka," he finished.

His children remained still, a warm bundle against his heart. Their warmth was beginning to seep through him, so that his icy exterior completely thawed, and a great tsunami of emotion came crashing down on him: love and joy, equally mingled with protectiveness and fear.

_**A/N: End of first chapter! I tried to keep it short ...**_


	2. Chapter 2: Anecdotes of Early Childhood

**Chapter II: Anecdotes From Early Childhood(I)**

_**A/N: I don't own Tekken. In this chapter and the next,**_

_**we skate over Jin&Asuka's early chidhood by highlighting**_

_**the most memorable incidents. I'm sorry if it turns out long;**_

_**I couldn't help it; I really enjoyed writing this.**_

_One month later,_

The twins were extremely difficult. They would often wake up in the middle of the night to throw nasty fits and temper tantrums, and Kazuya, who during the day refused to have anything to do with them on account of his busy schedule and ambitious career, would be galvanized into action. He would push Jun back into bed and attempt to deal with his children himself; countless times Jun had seen him roaming the hallways of their home like a ghost, a twin tucked into each shoulder. Even when the infants were fast asleep, with their cot on his side of the bed, he would rise every twenty minutes or so to check for their regular breathing, as though afraid that they might somehow die in their sleep. But this was a passing phase.

_Four years later,_

"Eat," Kazuya growled, glaring across the small table at Asuka and Jin. The twins, now robust four-years-olds with cherubic cheeks, glared mutinously back at their father, their plates untouched. Kazuya sighed; why was Jun making him do this?

And now Asuka began to wail," We don't like oranges! We like apples and bananas!"

"Keep your opinion to yourself, Asuka! I'm sure Jin can speak for himself." It worried him that while Asuka always seemed to know what she wanted, Jin always seemed to back her, no matter what. Now Jin rushed to his twin's defence.

" We want apples and bananas," he added to the wailing."Momma said apples are like hearts and bananas are like little moons!"

"Well," Kazuya began with gritted teeth." Oranges are..."he looked towards the window, seeking inspiration from the blood-red sunset outside. "liquid sunshine," he finished, inwardly cursing himself for his lameness.

But the twins received this new piece of information with wide eyes and gaping mouths, and they finished their plates without further complaints.

_March of the same year,_

It was Girls' Day in Japan, an occasion that the Mishimas in America did not pass up. Little Asuka was decked out in her full glory: a lovely periwinkle blue kimono of purest silk, traditional pinchy shoes that she had initially disliked, and colourful ribbons that trailed from her shoulder length raven hair. She giggled with delight as she sashayed gracefully around the living room, twirling her matching fan like an experienced geisha.

Kazuya busied himself with the camera, taking several closeup shots of Asuka while attempting to swallow the huge lump in his throat. His daughter looked like her mother in miniature. " I didn't name you Soaring Bird for nothing," he finally said in a barely audible croak. Then he quickly left the room and came back bearing Asuka's present.

"This is from all of us," he told Asuka, indicating Jin, Jun and himself. He carefully laid the dollhouse at her feet and stepped back to admire it: Custom made in Japan, of deep mahogany inlaid with gold, and fashioned into an exact replica of the Japanese Imperial Palace, with porcelein dolls of exquisite workmanship representing royal figures and their courtiers. Asuka's joyful shrieks made them all wince,as she flung her arms about her father's waist." Oh, thank you, thank you sooo much, Daddy!"

_Summer of the same year,_

The twins had grown at a phenominal rate these past few years, mainly due to a healthy diet, but also to Jun's insistence that they spent as much time as possible in the great outdoors. And today, Kazuya was sitting on the front porch, accompanied by Jun and a mounting pile of paperwork. They were, or at least Jun was, watching as Asuka and Jin fooled about in their own miniature swimming pool.

Kazuya suddenly looked up, startled from his work by a nearby giggle, and lo and behold, his two children were standing before him, dripping wet and completely naked. The sun was beginning to take its effect on their delicate skin: Their cheeks, their protruding tummies, even their bare bottoms were a healthy shade of pink. Jin and Asuka continued to giggle until-

"Daddy, why are Jinny and me so different, around here?" Asuka innocently inquired, gesturing towards her groin. Kazuya blanched, squirmed in his seat, lost for words. Jun laughed, then stood up and chevvied the twins back indoors to avoid the explosion that would have otherwise followed.

_Autumn of the same year,_

Kazuya had begun Jin's training in Mishima-ryu. He went easy on the boy, not with the insane ferocity his own father had used against him. He watched as his kick sent his son crashing down, then almost flew to his side to assess the damage. Jin had grazed his knee as he fell, but seemed otherwise unhurt. Kazuya tended to his injury, noticing how the boy's face turned pink, how his lips quivered, how his eyes turned glassy, spilling forth a few treacherous tears of pain.

"Strong little men like you shouldn't cry," he told Jin, inwardly smiling at the effort his son had put into keeping the tears at bay. He contemplated the boy for a while, forcing him to meet his gaze. " Here, do this," he finally said, and he tightly pinched his son's nose. " My grandfather showed me this trick when I was your age; the pressure exerted is enough to stop the tears."

He gave Jin one final sweeping look."Off you go."


	3. Chapter 3: Anecdotes II

**Chapter III: Anecdotes Of Early Childhood(II)**

_**A/N: Never will I get to own Tekken**_

_September_

Kazuya knelt before Asuka, examining her bruised cheek. His daughter, on her very first day of school, had been sent to the principal's office for repeatedly punching a classmate. Kazuya had had to conceal his pride behind a mask of sternness: The boy looked much worse off than Asuka, with a black eye and a torn lip.

" I'm listening," Kazuya began sternly.

" They started it," Asuka said, fuming, her cheeks flushed.

" Who's _they_?"

"Those boys! They were being mean to Ricky; they threw his lunchbox out the window!"

" Can't he stand up for himself?"

"No, Daddy, he's ill."

" You've only made it worse. A boy who needs a girl to stand up for him will always be singled out by the bullies."

" I really hate 'em, Daddy, I'm gonna get 'em!" She demonstrated a mixture of Kazama and Mishima-ryu, her eyes burning with a disturbing intensity.

"Stop it, Asuka,listen!" He grabbed her arms, pinning them to her sides. " There's a _huge_ difference between wanting justice, and _hating _someone and wanting _revenge_." Then he added, more to himself," _I _should know."

Asuka's face clouded with confusion.

Kazuya sighed." We have a proverb in Japan: if you seek revenge, then dig two graves; one for your enemy, and one- " he lightly pinched Asuka's cheek, "for yourself." He got to his feet. " You'll understand someday."

_Winter_

" Daddy, we can't sleep, we're scared!" Asuka wailed. Jin nodded fervently, tightly clutching his twin's hand. Kazuya rolled his eyes; his fierce five year old daughter, his champion of justice, was afraid of a mere winter storm. The twins proceeded to give him their imploring "puppy-eyed looks", which made him relent.

" All right; just this once!" He stepped back to let them into his room. Before settling down for the night, however, the twins insisted on making a Family Wish, so the four Mishimas huddled on the bed, their arms about each other and their foreheads touching.

" I wish spring'ud come!" Asuka began.

" Me too!" Jin agreed

" I wish we'd always find comfort and happiness," Jun said

Now it was Kazuya's turn;he glared at the twins. " I wish some of you would stop being delinquents at school and cry-babies at home." Jun gave him a reproachful look, but Kazuya ignored her, punched his pillow into a more comfortable shape, and settled down to sleep. Even as he lay there, he thought he could not have wished for better children than Jin and Asuka.

_February_

" Momma and Daddy are sooo _Kawai_!" Asuka whispered to Jin. She was holding his hand, as the two of them lay curled up on his bed. Today had marked their parents' sixth wedding anniversary, and the twins had treated themselves to their parents' wedding and honeymoon pictures; the albums were stashed beneath the twins' pillows, to be surreptitiously returned to their original hiding place, the following morning.

" Can I be your bride, Jinny?" Asuka suddenly blurted.

"Nah-uh, Suki," Jin answered.

" Why not?" Asuka pouted, surprised that Jin would disagree.

" 'cuz sibs can't get married, don't you know?"

"Says who?"

" Everyone, even Momma and Daddy."

" Then I'm not gonna get married, _ever_!" Asuka huffed.

" Don't say that Suki; everyone's gotta get married. It's like having to do sums for homework." Jin responded sagely.

" And if they don't get married, they get time out?" Asuka asked, considering Jin's analogy.

"Uh-huh."

The twins fell silent, lost in similar trains of thought. Before long, they were fast asleep, still holding hands.

_Spring Break_

" We'd like a playhouse, Daddy," Asuka began

" Like the one at school," Jin quipped.

" Blue," Asuka piped up.

" And red," Jin chimed in.

Kazuya and Jun merely exchanged looks; never had they seen a more harmonious duo than their own Jin and Asuka.

When the "house" was finally set up in the Mishimas' garden, the twins confined themselves to it, roleplaying family for the better part of the day. Jun dragged Kazuya to the front porch, where they sat watching the twins' comical antics.

"Well, I should be going now," Jin was saying. He had on a trenchcoat; it was so big for his five year old frame, that it was a wonder that he did not trip over himself. He was also carrying a black briefcase, and his voice sounded odd, as if he was trying to make it deep. Asuka emerged beside her "husband", wearing an apron and carrying two lifelike dolls swaddled like infants. She stood on tiptoe and gave Jin a peck on the cheek.

" Drive safely," she told him.

By this time, Jun was having silent fits of laughter. " Oh, my, are they supposed to be impersonating _us_?"

"Those rascals," Kazuya said, shaking his head. Then he called out to the twins," All right, enough roleplaying. Time for your training!" But Jun could swear he had been smiling a split-second before.

_June_

It was Father's Day, and Kazuya sat in his office, examining Jin and Asuka's present. It was a rectangular picture frame that the twins had crafted with Jun's help, and had painstakingly decorated it with artistic patterns and colourful shards of glass. Kazuya read the note wedged inside the frame, written in shaky, childlike Japanese characters.

_" Dear Daddy,_

_We love you very much._

_And candy too!_

_Bye bye,_

_Jinny and Suki"_

Kazuya sighed. Words could not describe how he felt for his precious children at this precise moment. He suddenly stood up. Jin and Asuka would be expecting candy, but Kazuya would treat them instead to the finest quality ice-cream, as many flavours as they wanted, and in as much quantities as they could eat.

_**A/N: The joys of fatherhood!**_


	4. Chapter 4: Insight into their World

**Chapter IV: Insight Into Their World**

_**A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus, and thanks to all those**_

_**who took the time & trouble to provide feedback. And **_

_**once again I'll ask you to show some tact and review,**_

_**because I worked my butt off on this fic, particularly**_

_**on this chapter. And for those who have forgotten **_

_**the timeline, Jin & Asuka are now eleven-and-a-half**_

_**years old.**_

_Summer, six and a half years later_

_Suki, wake up!_

Asuka stirred, and her eyes slowly fluttered open. The first rays of sunlight were filtering into her room, flooding it with their assuring warmth. As Asuka's mind caught up with her senses, she became aware of a second consciousness that was gently tugging at the innermost chamber of her mind. Asuka groaned and rolled over, but the mental nudge kept coming. She shut her eyes and lashed out at the source of the disturbance.

_Good golly gosh, Jin! You had to be up at this hour?_

She felt Jin's mind reel away from the impact of her response, and the connection they shared was briefly lost.

_Yeah, because I needed to remind you what today is, otherwise you wouldn't remember if your life depended on it, Suki._

And this time, Jin voluntarily severed the connection to avoid Asuka's outburst.

" That is so not true," Asuka said out loud. In a flash, she had flung the covers off and was on her feet, all grogginess gone. " I never forgot about today!"

_Now you're up, Suki! It wasn't hard, was it?_

_Oh, shut it, Jin! _But she couldn't help grinning.

Jin and Asuka never quarrelled. In fact, they had been inseparable since birth, a remarkable feat , even by twin standards. The uncanny telepathic bond forged between them had never been a source of alarm; they liked to enjoy their playful banter without anyone being any the wiser, particularly during long, monotonous hours spent in classrooms.

Now Asuka dressed at full speed and proceeded to tidy up her room. It was spacious, like every other room in the Mishimas' home, but was not particularly feminine in style and decoration. In fact, were it not for the blue penguin-print pajamas that lay neatly folded on a chair, it would have been difficult to guess its occupant's gender.

Asuka cleared her cluttered desk, grimacing as she extracted from a pile of notes her end-of-year report. She had achieved every subject, even managed to conquer her long-time enemy, mathematics, but the note below her grades had dampened her spirits. Her teachers had noted that Asuka had " a good head on her shoulders" as far as academics were concerned, but that she was " volatile" and " prone to bouts of anger that left the school infirmary full." They even had the nerve to recommend "anger management" classes. If Asuka had been displeased with these comments, her father was appalled and more than a little disgusted, responding by harshly berating her and revoking his decision to send her, and consequently Jin, off to summercamp.

Asuka now opened her window and inhaled the fresh, crisp air. Her face fell as she noticed the pot-plant sitting on the window ledge, withered and yellowing, and she vaguely wondered what had gone wrong with it.

" You've given it far too much water," Jin observed. They were now in his room, and Asuka was quick to notice the contrast with her own. It was meticulously organised, with stacks of books lining the shelves, and Jin's telescope, microscope and chemistry kit occupying one corner, and his art set and harmonica occupying another.

Jin had a strong fascination with the natural world, a trait no doubt passed from his mother. He would often take lengthy walks in the Mishimas' garden, subtly observing nature's order. He had also inherited his father's varocious appetite for books and knowledge, so that his eyes could scan two pages of text in mere seconds, and he could tell you their precise contents, a feat that marked him as an outstanding student, while Asuka was forced to study, and study, and study some more to attain his level.

Jin had an artistic side as well, which both his parents encouraged him to cultivate. He had taken up drawing and fine calligraphy and could play an assortment of tunes on his harmonica. Despite all that, Jin often downplayed his triumphs and talents. He was an intensely private and reserved individual, very much like his father, and rarely allowed himself to shine outside his family. He also possessed extraordinary powers of perception, and could acutely determine people's feelings and interpret their motives, as well as empathize with their suffering. He maintained a realistic, positive outlook to life, very much unlike Asuka, who was idealistic and would often ignore the "shine" and search for the "tarnish" instead.

" The soil's still saturated,see?" Jin continued.

Asuka's gaze fell from his finely hewn, perfectly balanced features back to her dying plant. Then she turned to look at Jin's own green and thriving plant.

" I guess Momma's prize is all yours," she said ruefully. Her twin had outdone her yet again.

Jin chuckled lightly." We'll split it fifty-fifty. Afterall, you did give me that excellent book on plants."

Asuka's face suddenly lit up." Last one to the garden's a rotten egg!" And she bolted to the door, with Jin close on her heels.

The twins now basked in the splendid warmth of a glorious summer morning. Asuka lay on the damp grass, catching fresh dew drops from green leaves and stalks, as Jin admired for the millionth time their Garden of Eden, the joint product of their parents' fertile imagination, and a true work of art.

Fruit trees coexisted with Spanish moss and green ivy, and multicoloured flowers dotted the surroundings: roses, tulips, daisies, peonies, pansies and lilacs. Waterlilies constantly drifted on the surface of a small lake, home to a pair of beautiful swans that lazily traversed its waters. A neat cobble stone path led to a small glade where a table for four had been set up, and a bridge that arched gracefully over the lake led to a summerhouse where the twins had once been instructed in tea ceremony by their parents.

As Asuka lay there contentedly, it occured to her just how fortunate she and Jin were. Their life was a spacious room many people would give their right arms to enter. The Mishima children had travelled all over the country. They had been to DisneyLand three times already, had a beautiful house in Bel Air, LA, and an elegant apartment in New York City's Wardolf Towers.

Their parents were the best in the world. Jun's compassion was unparalleled, and while Kazuya was stern, he had taken it upon himself to teach his children from a young age how to run, climb,swim and most importantly, how to fight. He had also instructed them in astronomy, history and theology, and the twins' knowledge structure was much firmer than their peers'.

" Asuka-chan, Jin-Kun!" It was their mother, calling to them from the second floor balcony." Don't keep your father waiting any longer; you're late for your morning lessons as it is."

The twins exchanged dismayed looks; this had completely slipped their minds. They hastily retreated back inside.

Asuka and Jin presented themselves before their father in his study. Kazuya, sitting at his cherrywood desk, ignored them at first, and continued to scratch away with his pen, which gave the twins ample opportunity to hold a silent debate.

_Should we tell him, Jin?_

_No, Suki; it'd ruin the surprise._

_How could he forget about today?_

_When you're as busy as Pa, you tend to forget a lot of things._

Kazuya eventually said, without looking up," Define punctuality."

Asuka instantly replied," The respect we show people by being on time."

Kazuya laid down his pen and looked Asuka straight in the eye." You in particular seem to have more respect for dew drops than you do for me!"

The twins stood in awkward silence until Kazuya broke it." I have important matters to attend to, so we cannot have our morning session. We'll settle for a recap. Tell me in turn the revised version of the moral code by which you live. Jin,if you will."

Jin stood straighter as he began," To be advocates of peace and goodwill, living in harmony under the protection of our rulers and the guidance of our enlightened thinkers,forsaking all forms of unnecessary violence, not only to fellow humans, but to all living creatures-"

Kazuya gestured for Asuka to continue.

" To help and comfort the dispossessed , harbour orphans and waifs, give clothing, food or shelter to any man or creature that is deemed in need of such. To be educated and educate in turn, particularly in the arts of healing and prevailing warfare."

Jin picked up from there." To honour and protect our brethren and friends, only raising hand to do battle when our existence is threatened by treachery or war, in which case every man ought to show courage, fortitude and unquestionable obedience to the ruler. Albeit the taking of a life must always be justified and never carried out in a wanton manner."

Asuka ended it all." The original code was derived from Buddha's main commandments. It was later modified by the Shogunates to suit their own war-like code, the Bushido."

Kazuya raised an eyebrow; the twins' recitation was flawless.

"Very well then; I can leave here with a clear conscience."

_**A/N: Now THAT was long! Difficult to write too. I hope you liked Jin & Asuka's characters.**_


	5. Chapter 5: Revelry

**Chap****ter V: Revelry **

_**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated this in so long. I hope this really long update makes up for it. The story picks up from right where it left off last time. Now if I owned Tekken, all the Mishimas(minus Heihachi) would be living under the same roof**___

After seeing their father off, Jin and Asuka had a leisurely breakfast with their mother, after which they retired to Jin's room for their morning reading.

Jin sat cross-legged on his bed, reading selected passages from _Ancient Greece_, while Asuka, who would normally be sprawled next to him, occupied his desk. He suddenly sucked in his breath. " Suki," he began." Did you know that the Spartans used to throw their weak or deformed children off steep cliffs?"

"Hmmm..." Asuka replied absently.

"Suki, what are you doing?" Jin carefully marked his page and made his way to where Asuka sat, scribbling furiously. He looked over her shoulder and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. She put her pen down with a sigh.

"Yes, I know exactly what to expect from him, Jin:_ "Asuka, improve your handwriting. Do you have a vendetta against those poor letters, because the way you dot your i's and cross your t's suggests so."_

Jin grinned. " I think Pa'll let it slide this time, seeing as you're working on it now, when it's not due in till tomorrow afternoon. Put today's date so he'll know." He went back to his reading , amusing himself with several thoughts. _ In the news tonight, Mishima Asuka, notorious procrastinator, abandons her irritating habit of doing assignments at the last possible -_ he dodged Asuka's hurtling pencil case. " Eh, that's not how you show respect to your older brother," he mock-scolded her.

Asuka stuck her tongue out at him. " Older by less than two minutes! And _ me _respecting _you_?! Yeah right, only when it snows in the desert, and seaweed grows on the mountaintops, and mountains grow on the ocean floor!"

They mock-glared at each other for a moment longer, then burst out laughing at their silly antics."I want to have super-duper fun tonight with Daddy," Asuka justified after their laughter had subsided. " And I don't want this stupid assignment eating at me!"

Jin felt no need to reply. He missed his father's good company just as much, and felt frustrated with the precious little time he and Asuka got to spend with Kazuya nowadays, outside of lessons.

"I bet you he'd still be clueless about the occasion," Asuka was saying.

"Maybe..." he suddenly grinned," and I bet you Momma will make you wear that dress!"

XXXXXXX

_Early Evening_

When the unwary Kazuya came through the door that night, he was met with a great force that made him stagger back a few steps.

" Asuka, for the hundredth time..." he began wearily, but stopped short at the sight of her. Asuka beamed at him, resplendent in a shimmering periwinkle blue dress and silver slippers, with her hair drawn up in a neat bun, and two wavy strands framing her blushing visage. Jin hovered nearby, looking thoroughly uncomfortable, not having counted on his mother's insistence that he dress formally for the evening: dress shirt, pants and loafers, his raven hair neatly slicked back so that his resemblance to the elder Mishima was all the more striking.

"Hello, Pa," he greeted awkwardly.

"Hello, son," Kazuya replied, extricating himself from Asuka's overenthusiastic embrace. His eyes suddenly lit up at the sight of Jun, who floated over to greet him with a gentle rustle of her silk dress, and their eyes met and seemed to speak volumes, and the twins had to wonder whether their parents, just like them, had their own secret means of communication.

"Ah, Asuka in a dress..." Kazuya finally said as he stepped over the threshold and was instantly relieved of his briefcase and coat by Jin, who ran to put them in his study." And here I was thinking I'd never live to see this day..."

"Aww Daddy!" Asuka pouted." Did you really think I'd let this beautiful dress you got me just sit in the closet and rot?!"

"I never really know what to think, with regards to you," he replied , not unkindly, and then he turned to the re-entering Jin. " And don't you look... admirable. Although that, coming from me, is rather biased, seeing as you're my mirror image-with a few deliberate errors."He smiled, and Jin shyly returned the favour, noting how his father's cold formality of the morning had given way to such warmth.

"So what's your excuse for being festive?"

Asuka laughed and tugged on his arm." Do we always have to remind you,_ Doctor_?"

"Oh, _that_," Kazuya said with a snort, remembering his children's infatuation with celebrating his every success, his PhD in Corporate and Business Law being one of their favorites, and earning him the title "Doctor". He waved it off, as he did every year, until he finally had to succumb to their (particularly Asuka's) charms.

XXXXXXX

They had a sumptuous dinner, outside in the garden, where Kazuya admired the colourful lanterns put up by Jin, and shook his head at the large banner that screamed, "DOCTOR-SAN!!!!" in gaudy glitter and colours, all compliments of Asuka.

Jin was thoughtful throughout the meal, not taking his eyes off his father, and when the right moment came, he gestured towards the banner and said," that was a lifetime ambition, right?"

For a moment, he felt a flicker of some mysterious emotion in his father's eyes before the elder Mishima answered smoothly, "Why, so it was, Jin. And what would _you_ like to do with your life?"

Jin cast his eyes down and muttered," I'm not really sure. Something practical, I guess, and beneficial to everyone…."

"Why don't you come out and say it," Kazuya said impatiently," it's _medicine _you want, isn't it?"

Jin raised his eyes to meet his father's." Yes, it's one of the things I'd like to do."

"It's the _only _thing, you mean."

Jin hung his head again, flustered at his awkwardness, shamed at the disappointment he thought he was bringing his father.

Kazuya, however, was unaffected, since he had long since realized that Jin's intense fascination with nature's sciences rendered him unsuitable to study anything that pertained to running a company.

"I'm quite sure you'll make a marvelous doctor, Jin," Jun said, smiling at him.

" He most certainly will, so here's to the world's first class heart surgeon, the only one I can rely on to replace one of my valves," Kazuya raised his glass and toasted him. " It's a long and tortuous path you have ahead of you, Jin, but if you want it that much, then you will have it, come hell or high water."

He turned to Asuka, who had been quietly watching the exchange between father and son, wondering why Jin was outgoing around her, quiet around others, and almost always cowed by their father's authoritative presence. " And you, Asuka, you'll make a fresh start this September, in the new school I'm enrolling you both in; fresh start as in _more rigor, less palaver_. And you will exercise _patience_, which as I keep having to hammer into that stubborn head of yours, is the ability to control the extremely destructive emotion:_ anger_…." He trailed off, and not even Asuka missed the sudden change in his eyes, subtle as it was.

" I'll try really hard, Daddy, I will," she said.

Kazuya said nothing to this, instead stared fixedly at the star-studded, velvet canopy of the sky. " Quite a good night for star-gazing," he said suddenly. "Jin, fetch your telescope, and I'll teach you how to make a proper star chart."

Jin got up and returned with the telescope, and soon he and Kazuya were lost in a sea of technicalities, eager to test one another's knowledge, and Jun and Asuka marveled at the strength of their bonding, once the awkwardness dissolved.

When they all grew weary of naming constellations, Jin and Asuka excused themselves, to return a minute later with a large, meticulously wrapped box between them; their gift to their father.

They watched as their father unwrapped it with as much dignity as possible, keeping the excitement off his face.

"Ah, something to keep me even busier," he chuckled." It will probably take me months to build this clipper ship, but," he glanced at the picture of the completed model on the instruction manual," it _will _be finished, and it'll grace the top of our mantelpiece. Thank you." He was looking at both twins, but his words were directed more specifically at Jin, who knew of, and shared his love for the practical.

The remainder of the evening was spent in the living room, with Kazuya sitting on an antique rocking chair, and Jun and the twins crowding his lap. It was as it used to be when the twins were younger and their father was less of a workaholic.

" Tell us the story of the First Eclipse!" Asuka piped up.

" The story of Buddha and the Monkey Who Would Be King! The one your grandpa told you!" Jin said, noticing how Kazuya always spoke well of his grandfather, yet never mentioned his father even once.

"One at a time!" Kazuya replied with a smile, inwardly promising himself and his family many more pleasant evenings to come, and cursing himself for his recent neglect of them, and most of all for withholding so much vital facts of his previous life from his children.

_They're only eleven and a half,_ he thought,_ but I'll tell them the truth, someday,_ he promised.

_**A/N: Phew!( wipes sweat off forehead). That took a while! Next chapter: The twins start secondary school, and just who'll they be rubbing shoulders with?**_


	6. Chapter 6: Friendships Forged

**Chapter VI: Friendships Forged**

_**A/N: I don't own Tekken.**_

_**Jin & Asuka start secondary school here. Now, **_**I'm **

**not that familiar with the American education system;**

**to me secondary school means grades**_** 7-9; kids start at**_

_**age 11 /12 and finish at 14. So the twins are still pretty much**_

_**preteens. Hope no-one's disappointed.**_

_September 1st_

Asuka was never an early morning person, particularly when school was concerned, but Jin had other plans for her. _Come on, wake up, touslehead! _ He kept assaulting her mind with this thought, until she couldn't take it any longer.

_Touslehead?! Well, excuse me, but it's your head that looks like a hedgehog the minute you wake up! _She angrily threw the covers off and blearily saw her twin standing at the doorway, immaculate in his new school uniform: white shirt, royal blue jacket and matching pants, collar and tie perfect, hair combed back and still damp.

"No! You're dressed up already!" Asuka groaned in dismay.

" Yeah, come on, or we'll be late."

" Don't wanna wear a skirt!"

Jin sighed. " Look, Suki, I know it's not about the skirt. You're worried that you'd let Pa down on our first day, but that's not about to happen. Pa made sure to put us in a school where about three quarters of the students are foreigners. So we won't stick out, and there won't be any trouble, not unless you go looking for it."

Asuka looked up at him. " You'll always stick out, Jin." _Straight-A student, incredible talent, quiet character... _

" Yeah, but I can take care of myself, without making a big mess, like you, Suki."

XXXXXXX

Breakfast was a subdued meal. Asuka paled when Kazuya asked her to straighten her collar. She was a whole basket of nervous emotion and hardly touched her breakfast. Finally, Kazuya put _the Times _ away and stood up, declaring that he was running late.

" Finish your breakfast," he shot at Asuka.

"I'm not hungry," she replied, fidgeting slightly." And how come we have to finish our breakfast and you don't, Daddy?"

He rolled his eyes." Because you, unlike me, are yet to reach the age at which you'll earn the right to ruin your own lives. Now eat, and be on your best behaviour today."

Asuka continued to glare down at her plate.

XXXXXXX

_International School of Cambridge (ISC)_

Even though the halls were crowded with students exchanging news and stories, the noise level was relatively low.

_Quiter than our old school, Suki._

_And smaller, but it sure is grander!_

With a little bit of asking around, they located 7-A, which was empty, except for one girl who sat at the teacher's desk, reading. She looked up as they entered and smiled." Hello, there. You're the new ones, twins, right?" She was tanned and bespectacled, with long brown hair pulled back into a single braid, and serene eyes that looked at them with friendliness and warmth.

" Hi!" Asuka returned the greeting." Gosh, is everybody else out in the hall?"

"Oh, yes, they can't be bothered to come to class before the bell rings. Specially today." she smiled." So, you're Jin and Asuka Mishima.." she said haltingly, consulting the seating plan on the desk.

"Um, Asuka with a silent "u"," Asuka replied awkwardly.

"oh, sorry, my bad," the girl laughed." I'm Julia Chang by the way."

"Nice to meet you, Julia."

"Same here. Asuka, you're my new deskmate; over there. And Jin, you sit up front, here." She pointed out the seats." And I can't believe it! They're actually seating Rang and Steve together! No teacher's gonna have a peaceful moment this year!" She murmured, shaking her head, then returned to her reading. Jin watched her for a moment, then spoke for the first time.

"Um, I heard you have a place here, called the Dome, where there's this big library... and I was wondering if you could...uh... " he trailed off.

Julia's eyes lit up." Show you around? Sure, no problem. I'll take you there at lunchtime."

"Thanks. Um, how many students do you have here?"

" Around six to seven hundred. It's a small school. Exclusive. You get the children of ambassadors, business people and the like. Most of them are boarders."

"Are you a boarder?" he asked.

"No, but Rang and Steve were, up until last year."

"Hey, did somebody just say our names?" They looked around as two boys entered, and a girl skipped in behind them. All three were in uniforms, but the boys looked like they would like nothing better than to be out of them. They were both tall and lean, but whilst one was blue-eyed and fair-haired, the other had Asian features, flaming red hair and a pair of goggles perched precariously on his head. The girl, also Asian, was small and slender, with her black hair tied in two pigtails, and laughter sparkling in her eyes.

" Hey, Jules, how was the Arizona Desert?" the red-head asked with a smirk.

"Fine," Julia sighed. " Why don't you take those off; you'll get detention, you know." she said, gesturing at his goggles.

" Told -you-so!" the other girl said in a sing-song voice. " Just like they gave Lily detention for wearing her skirt too short, and me for wearing these last year," she continued, in a high-pitched, breathless voice, indicating the pink bangles she wore on her wrists.

" Do I look like I care?!" the red-head said. He continued to look at Julia, ignoring Jin and Asuka for the moment. " So you were saying?"

Julia rolled her eyes." I was just saying you and Steve used to be boarders here."

"Oh, yeah," the boy said, with surprising solemnity, as he perched on one of the desks." It was either boarding school, juvenile prison, or a Buddhist monastery high up in the mountains."

The blond boy perched up beside him, chuckling. " That one I haven't heard of. For real, mate?" he had a strange accent.

"Yeah, unless of course Baek was just kidding around, which he does about once a millenium, if I'm lucky." The blond boy laughed appreciatively, the black-haired girl giggled and even Julia smiled. The twins exchanged amused looks.

"So, looks like we got ourselves two rookies this year," the red-head said, nodding at the twins.

"Oh," Julia interjected." They're-"

But before she could continue, another girl barged into the room, her silver-blond hair whipping behind her, her blue eyes flashing. Rang and Steve instantly jumped down and retreated a safe distance.

"so zair you are!" the girl raged." I am wa'ning you too. Eef I find one mo' diz-gusting sing in my loacker zis year, you too a' in for eet!"

"Eh, keep your hair on, Barbie Doll!" Rang taunted, still wary.

"Um, I think we were about to make some introductions," Julia began before things got out of hand. "Everyone, these are our new classmates.: Jin and Asuka Mishima-"

"Mishimaz?! Euh!" the blonde girl pulled a strange face, as if there was a disgusting smell beneath her nose." Doant even toak too me!" And she stormed off, just as the bell rang for their morning lessons.

XXXXXXX

"Wicked!" Steve said as he took his place beside Rang. They sat right behind Jin, whose new deskmate, the Asian girl, was in the process of spreading her vast stock of pink stationary across the table.

" Bet you five bucks Julia'll get the answer first," Rang whispered, as was the daily ritual. But to their great astonishment, when the teacher's question came, Jin beat Julia to the answer.

"Great. One more nerd to add to the gang."

XXXXXXX

By the time first break came, Asuka was famished._ Daddy was right_, she conceded, as she accompanied Julia, Jin and his deskmate to the cafeteria. Once there, they separated, and Jin found himself alone with the girl, whose name was Ling Xiaoyu, at the sweet counter, watching as she purchased a large bar of chocolate.

"You know, you shouldn't be eating that, so early in the day," Jin began conversationally. He didn't know why, but he somehow found talking to her to be really easy, almost as easy as talking to Asuka. Perhaps it was due to her childlike disposition, her spirited, overenthusiastic nature that made her seem like a younger sister.

"I know," she replied with a giggle, taking a big bite out of the bar." But chocolate's the only thing that can keep me sane after being locked up in class for three straight hours." she laughed again." And I'm Ling Xiaoyu, by the way."

He smiled." Yeah, I know."

"But maths teachers don't make really good introductions, do they?" she said, munching thoughtfully on her bar. "Call me Ling, it's easier, everyone does. Well, some call me Loony Ling, actually." she said with another giggle, pointing towards a crowd of laughing people, with Rang and Steve as entertainers. "They say really funny things, but they can be a bit mean sometimes."

"Yeah," he agreed without knowing, staring hard at the duo. " but I'll pass on the offer. I'll call you Xiao, instead, short for Xiaoyu."

The girl's eyes grew as round as marbles, and for a moment, Jin was afraid he might have offended her. Then she said, with a brilliant smile," No-one's ever given me a petname before, not even Julia, and she's my best friend!" she finished breathlessly.

"Well, uh..." Jin was suddenly uncomfortable, but was spared the trouble of answering by an incredibly irate, high-pitched voice that rang out through the cafeteria.

"_Mon Dieu_, zis food iz even 'eavier zan last year'z! I will not fit eentoo any of ze noo dresses _Papa_ got me from Monaco!"

" What a drama queen!" Asuka exclaimed with disgust, as she approached with her tray." Come on, let's sit somewhere."

Jin, Asuka, Julia and Xiao sat at the same table,to be joined by Rang and Steve, once they got bored of entertaining.

"Well, if it isn't_ Hwoa_-rang," Julia began with some venom.

Rang looked startled." What's with the name-calling?"

"We heard you making fun of Ling's Grandpa Wang's name to your buddies, that's what."

" What does Hwoarang mean?" Asuka asked curiously.

"Don't you dare!"

Xiao stuck out her tongue at him." Flower Knight," she giggled.

Steve chuckled."Charming title, mate!"

"Shut up!" Rang snarled, shoving him aside."You spent your summer looking for this piece of blackmail, Jules? All the time I was hoping you'd be roasting in the Arizona Desert..."

"Well, actually," Xiao said." _I'm _ the one who found this. It's my grandpa you keep insulting, you know!" she finished in her sing-song voice.

"Well, whatever..." he slid in the seat directly across from Jin, leaning towards him." I've been thinking, _Mishmash_," and Jin felt Asuka stiffen beside him." You being a nerd and a goody-two shoes and all...I've been wondering if it isn't all just an act..."

Jin smiled, an open-hearted smile that irritated the red-head."I'm not the actor type, just the doctor type." He had an idea where this was leading , having dealt with people like Rang all through his primary school days, and he refused to be trapped.

" And I'm the Tae-Kwon-Do type, so what type are you really? The Karate-type? Heard the Japs are pretty good at that..."

"You know, Rang," Julia interjected." Just because he's Japanese doesn't mean he can fight."

Jin sighed. Not even halfway through his first day, and someone was already demanding a fight with him. And then of course Asuka would want to get involved on his behalf, that is, if she wasn't busy exacting justice somewhere else. And then he would have to sort it out peacefully, like his parents taught him...Just what was it that drew those people to him?

"It's alright Julia," he finally said." Look, Rang; I know what you want, and my answer is _no_." he said it calmly, yet firmly, the way his father taught him to say it whenever he was provoked.

The red-head's face darkened in an instant; nothing was left of the humour." Right," he said testily. " Well I got news for you, _Mishmash_, I _will_ get you to fight me!"

"Well, good luck with that, _Flower Knight_."

The red-head flushed and stormed off. Steve hesitated, then said, with amusement," Sorry about that, mate. It's just... no-body said no to Rang before..."

"Well, somebody has to, at some point," Jin replied, arms folded._ Why did it have to be Rang?Shame. I would have liked him._

XXXXXXX

_**A/N: So there you go! Most of the young Tekkenites in one bunch! Even Julia, whom I don't like all that much. It was kind of hard writing characters like Julia, Xiao, Steve and Lili- characters I've never written before. I put Fleur Delacour(HP) before me when I did Lili. As for Xiao, I made her witty as well as childlike- a good combination in my opinion. And Rang(yes, his real name's Rang in this fic), is just Rang: funny, arrogant and very competitive, and Steve's his best friend!**_ _**Hope you liked this!**_


	7. Chapter 7: Talk About Weekend Fun

**Chapter VII: Talk About Weekend Fun**

_**A/N: Nope, not mine...yet!**_

_**Okay, so here's another chapter,enjoy!**_

_**And please R&R!**_

As the week wore on, Rang persisted in pestering Jin, trying to catch him alone, always demanding a fight. But Jin had developed an effective counter strategy: as long as he stayed within sight or earshot of a large group, Rang wouldn't want to make a scene, and Jin managed to enjoy peaceful moments with his friends. There was Asuka; everyone knew they were inseparable. And Julia, eager to share her formidable knowledge with him; they hung out at the library, the Dome. And Xiao, who had a knack for stating somewhat embarrassing truths simply and freely, and often amused him with her odd descriptions of things, from mundane objects like clouds, to fantastic beings like elves and fairies. And Steve cracked jokes and kept Rang busy and happy and away from Jin. Lily Roquefort alone remained aloof, but Jin flashed her polite smiles whenever they met in passing.

XXXXXXX

Friday came, and with it the prospect of their first weekend. They discussed their plans during lunchtime, grouped together at their favourite table.

"But you must come over to my house tomorrow," Julia said to all of them. "Mother's invited you to lunch."

"And to my place too, after! Won't Mom and Dad and Grandpa Wang be thrilled!" Xiao quipped cheerfully.

The twins politely considered this, so the two girls looked at Rang and Steve expectantly, but they remained silent, Rang throwing reproachful looks at Jin and, surprisingly, at his best friend.

"Well?" Julia said impatiently.

"He's not coming," Rang said sourly, indicating Steve, then resumed his glaring at Jin. " So I'm not, either."

"Come off it, mate," Steve began." You know Aunt Anna won't like me going. She wants to have me over this weekend before Mum gets back from New York." He looked suddenly rather miserable.

"Yeah? Well I don't like to be alone with girls and this..." Rang waved his hand at Jin, an expression of distaste on his face.

"Funny," Asuka said drily." Five minutes ago, you couldn't wait to be alone with Jin." The girls laughed and Jin smiled as Rang flushed.

"Come on, Rang! It won't be the same without you!" Xiao moaned placatingly. "If Julia could get Lily to come, then I'me sure she'll convince Steve's aunt."

Rang's eyes lit up with mischief." Hey, that brat's coming along? Excellent! You don't wanna miss out on the action, mate!" he told Steve, who continued to pick moodily at his food.

XXXXXXX

Four o'clock came, and the students began trouping out of their classes. The twins and their friends walked up to the school's main gates together, Jin and Rang in the lead, separated by a glum-looking Steve, who looked unhappier still when a shiny red convertable sport car pulled up in the driveway.

"Oh, that'll be Hot Mom, er, Hot Aunt," Rang said with a smirk.

"Shut it, mate," Steve muttered.

A woman emerged from the car, tall and curvy and pretty faced. Her short brown hair was glass-straight, and she wore a red, low-cut blouse, tight blue jean shorts and a pair of sunglasses perched on her head. Her cherry lips parted into a bright smile when she saw Steve.

"There you are, Steven!" She greeted.

"Hello, Aunt Anna," Steve replied, his tone much less enthusiastic. He took a few, jerky steps forwards and his aunt flung her arms around his neck, bestowing kisses on his face Behind an uncomfortable Jin, Rang was making funny retching noises, only to receive a smack in the face with Asuka's pencilcase.

" So how was your first week? Not in any trouble already, are you?" Steve's aunt fretted.

Steve tried to wriggle free, blushing." Gerrof, Aunt, I'm not five years old!"

Anna missed the resentment as a voice rang out," 'ello Mizz Williamz!" And Lily Roquefort, much to Jin's surprise, dashed over to hug her.

"Why, hello, Lily! Don't you like radiant!"

"Not az good az you! And doant worry, Steven waz a good boy today," she said, glancing haughtily back at Steve."So when are we going shopping in Beverly 'illz?"

"Soon as I-" Anna stopped. Lily had disentangled herself from from the embrace and moved to the side, and Anna found herself looking at the twins, Jin in particular.

"Why, if you aren't your Daddy's image!"

"Sorry?" Jin was startled.

"Ah, look how handsome he looks when he's confused!" And she swooped down to give him a kiss on either cheek, ruffling his hair as well.

Steve blushed and mouthed_ sorry mate_ at Jin, and Rang looked too startled to continue with his gagging noises.

"Um, Miss Wiliams," Julia began." Can Steve come over for lunch tomorrow?"

"Aww, tomorrow's our last day together! Steven's mother's coming back Sunday... But, oh, well" she smiled, eying Jin fondly." I suppose a strapping lad like him could use a bit of running wild with his little friends..." Steve now looked positively mortified." Oh, and do come over for milkshakes and cookies sometime, hm? And don't forget to say hello to Daddy for me!" She blew Jin a kiss and departed, a grumbling Steve in tow.

"Okay, that was weird," Rang said finally, then his eyes gleamed." Hot Aunt kissing-" Asuka, Julia, Lily and Xiao rounded on him.

" Okay, okay, geez!" he mounted his bicycle, then nodded at Jin. " See you tomorrow then, _Mish-mash_."

XXXXXXX

Sometime before noon the next day, Rang, Steve, Xiao and Julia arrived at the Mishimas', intending to meet up with Jin and Asuka so they could all go over to Julia's. Xiao and Julia took their time chatting animatedly with Mrs Mishima in the kitchen, while Rang and Steve waited for the twins in the hall, Rang pacing nervously around, because although he'd been perfectly polite to Mrs Mishima, Mr. Mishima had given him the sort of look that scorched, and now the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, as the man's deep voice called," Boy! Quit pacing and come give me a hand!"

Rang looked at Steve,who shrugged, so he steeled himself and went to see what the Mishima wanted, only to have several large dusty old books worthy of Julia Chang dumped into his arms.

"In there," Kazuya said, pointing towards his study. Rang staggered in with his load, realising that he'd walked into a trap the moment Kazuya entered after him, carelessly shutting the door behind him.

"Where do you want them?" Rang asked, disliking the resemblance he saw between Jin and his father, and his own fear of the man.

"The desk would do." Rang deposited the books then faced his self-proclaimed rival's father.

"Interesting record you have, Rang Do San," Kazuya began mildly.

"Right, and how's that your business, sir?" Rang replied, on the defensive.

"Oh, I make it my business to investigate any juvenile delinquent my children associate with."

Rang bristled indignantly." Hey, look here, mister, that was like two years ago; they put me in boarding school for it, didn't-"

"One drug arrest under your belt," Kazuya overrode him." Two pounds of pot. Trying to set a record, were you? Just curious, was it using or dealing they charged you with?"

Rang snorted." Is there a difference?"

Kazuya rounded on him at once, and Rang found his face mere inches from his nose. "Are you talking out of the side of your neck, boy?" he hissed.

Rang took a step back."Eh?"

"Simply put in your crude language, are you being a_ smartass_?"

Just then, the door opened and Jun peered inside. " Jin and Asuka are ready... Um, is everything all right?"

"Why, yes," Kazuya replied, resting his hand lightly on Rang's shoulder." Rang here was telling me how much he likes community work. In fact, he just volunteered to help out with the afternoon chores; you know, wash the car, clean out the shed, see to the garden...Isn't that right, boy?" his hand bit into Rang's shoulder and the red-head could only nod and force a smile, inwardly cursing all Mishimas.

"Oh, thank you, Rang, you're so sweet!" Jun beamed at him, and Kazuya released him.

"Watch your step, boy."

XXXXXXX

Julia's house was in Faldham Heights, a quiet, pleasant little suburb with white houses in neat rows. The children left their bikes in the shed and went inside, to be shown around by Julia. The Chang home was really cosy, with the floors made of polished wood, covered by soft rugs made of animal furs. Shawls and beads hung from the walls, as well as fancy feathered head-dresses, and a various assortment of tools like small hatchets and axes. A fire blazed merrily in the room that was part living, part dining room.

Mrs Chang was a kind-faced woman greatly resembling her daughter. She asked after the twins and their parents, and fussed over everyone, calling to check up on Lily, who was late. When Lily's personal butler and driver, Sebastian, finally dropped her off at the Changs', Mrs Chang served them all a delicious buffalo stew as well as tortillas with a unique, hot sauce, and they all had second helpings, except Lily, who ate sparingly.

When they'd finished, the twins stood up as one and insisted on carrying their plates to the sink." Thanks a bunch, Mrs. Chang! That was awfully good!"

"You're welcome, dears," Michelle Chang replied, impressed at their politeness. She then began to tell them all about one of her future research projects in the Arizona Desert." You can come along, dears. I'm sure you'll enjoy camping in the desert." she told the twins.

"Wicked!" Rang and Steve said together.

"Now hold on a second, boys," Mrs Chang laughed."If this is all about trying to give us a scare with your coyote noises, or slipping scorpions in Lily's sleeping bag, then you can forget about it."

Afterwards, Mrs Chang presented them with Red Indian costumes and a whole lot of hatchets, ropes and war-paint, so the children happily (and very reluctantly in Lily's case) played Indian Wars in the garden. Jin was rather surprised that Rang was probably the best in the game. He made the loudest ululations, and took the most captives( soiling Lily's dress in the process), but Jin managed to untie Lily and Xiao from around the tree, before Cowboy Steve shot him and Rang dead with his musket. When the game was over, Lily did a bit of yelling at Rang, then called for Sebastian to take her home.

XXXXXXX

Their next stop was Xiao's, where they had green tea and scones, piping hot from the oven. Jin had expected Xiao's bedroom to be a little eccentric, but he found it to be almost normal with peppermint walls, a small bed with a white quilt and pink cushions, drawings(done by Xiao herself) posted on the walls, and miniature dolls on the wardrobe and dresser. The only distinguishing feature was the presence of numerous stuffed panda bears of all sizes. "I LOVE panda bears!" Xiao gushed in explanation. "Funny, how we get lots of bears here in America, but never panda bears..."

Rang said lazily, with his arms linked behind his head," Hey, maybe they all took off back to China when they saw you coming, _ouch!_" Asuka had flung a stuffed panda bear at his head.

When they went back downstairs, they were detained by Wang Jinrei, Xiao's great grandfather, who seemed to take great interest in Jin, again highlighting his resemblance to his father to a confused Jin.

"Your father taught you Mishima Karate, I assume?" he said.

"Yes," Jin replied.

"Well, then, a short lesson in Tai-chi from an old man can't hurt."

"What's Tai-chi?" Julia asked curiously.

"Ah, it is using your enemy's force against him, to defend yourself. " He slid into a stance. " Who would like to help demonstrate?Ah, the glowering red-haired young man."He pointed at Rang, who was indeed glaring at Jin, from the moment he made his admission about karate. " Come, boy," Rang went up and stood right in front of the old man." Now, I will come at you, and you will use my own force to stop me, you hear?Good." Jin looked closely at Rang, who was wearing his typical _are-you-kidding-me_ look.

Wang Jinrei made a forceful move towards Rang, and his open palms hit the boy's chest, and to everyone's surprise, Rang was flung far across the room." Aiya!" Wang exclaimed." I may be old, but it is very foolish to underestimate me! You next!" he pointed at Jin, as Rang got up, wincing.

Jin took Rang's place, took a deep breath, readied himself._Use your opponent's force._ Wang came at him the same way, smashed his palms against his chest. Jin winced but held his ground, and Wang nearly toppled back. "Ah, you are beginning to get the hang of it!" the old man said, clapping him on the back. "You can teach your young friend here a thing or two!"

XXXXXXX

Towards late afternoon, they said goodbye and went their separate ways, except Rang who went back with the twins, since he still had the forced "promise" he'd made to keep.

He was in the Mishimas' garden, pruning roses and cursing under his breath. _ I still have that damn Porsche to wash..._ Asuka suddenly came up to him, startling him so that he pricked his finger. He muttered some more and sucked his finger, and then Asuka patiently took the gardening tool out of his hand and showed him how to use it properly.

"It was really nice of you to want to help out," she began conversationally. He looked at her in surprise; less than a week of knowing Asuka had taught him not to expect compliments from her.

" Yeah, whatever. All I was giving up was a boring evening at the arcade and bowling arena. S'no big deal." Irony was heavy in his voice, but Asuka misinterpreted it.

"Look, I know old Wang made you look bad in front of Jin, and I know how bad you want to fight him. So how 'bout this: You fight _me_instead?" She got up into her stance, and Rang stood up too, his eyebrowes raised.

"You're kidding, right?"

"No! I was trained since I was little, just like Jin. You'll find me more than a challenge."

Rang continued to look amused, and Asuka frowned and placed her hands on her hips. " Wait, does this have anything to do with the fact that I'm a girl?"

" Like _DUH!_" Rang replied." If I fight a girl, I'll be committing school and street rep suicide! It'll be as bad as..." he waved his arms wildly for emphasis," telling everyone I'm as nerdy as Julia Chang!"

"Oh, I see," she said coolly." Well then, I'll just have a nice little laugh behind your back telling everyone you got beat by an old man. What'll that do to your reputation, I wonder?"

"Easy there, Suki." It was Jin, coming up beside them. Rang glared daggers at him, but Jin smiled at him.

"You know, Suki, if you and I helped with the car, we might all just have time to hit the arcades. " he looked at the incredulous pair before him, and smiled again, directing his next words at Rang." I say, I've always wanted to have a go at one of those wild shooting games! D'you think you can show me?"

And the rest of the day passed pleasantly enough...

_**A/N: I swear, this has got to be the longest update yet, but I sure hope it 's worth it! Reviews, plz?**_


	8. Chapter 8: Tough Going

**Chapter VIII: Tough Going**

_**A/N: I dunno about you, but I don't own Tekken.**_

_**Thanks a million for your support guys! Keep it coming! This chapter is long, so bear with me, and it's Rang, Jin and Asuka- oriented. **_

The following Friday afternoon found the children in the Mishimas' garden. Rang was sitting on the garden wall, swinging his legs in boredom, the girls(minus Lily) and Steve gathered around him. Jin stood apart from them, his arms folded, having just declined another of Rang's invitations to a fight.

"Darn it, Mish-mash,"Rang was saying." You can't say no forever. You'll _have_ to fight me sometime!"

"You keep pushing it, Rang," Jin said quietly without looking up.

"Yeah, you're damn right I'm gonna keep pushing it, till I get what I want!"He snorted."And you could at least provide _some_ entertainment. I'm bored out of my mind, and you don't even have a game console!I can't believe you've never heard of _Winning Eleven_ or _WWE:Smackdown_! What, did having a twin sister make you go sissy, Mish-mash!?"

"Why don't you shut up about Jin and start clowning around, like you do in school?" Asuka said scathingly. "Then, you could be _some entertainment_, instead of a _major headache_."

Rang opened his mouth to retaliate, but Julia intervened. " Um, Rang, Steve said the two of you learned to speak Chinese. Is that true?"

Rang's eyes gleamed." Heh, heh, you could say that. Ask me something, mate," he told Steve.

" What's Chinese for 'I got that for free'?"

Rang thought for a moment." 'Ai No Pei'"

"Hey!" squealed Xiaoyu." That's not Chinese!"

"Well, what was your first clue, Loony?" he taunted.

"Hey," Asuka said, glaring at Rang, hands on hips." What's Chinese for ' You're awfully thick-headed'? Bet it's something on the lines of ' Yu So Dum' , because that's what you are, Rang!"

Rang burst out laughing." Whoa, you're getting the hang of it!" He offered her his open palm, and Asuka, caught up in her moment of triumph, laughed and high-fived him. Jin looked on with bemusement at his twin's impulsive ambiance, brought on by Rang's praise.

XXXXXXX

Kazuya and Jun stood on the balcony, watching the children's antics. Kazuya frowned as he saw Asuka exchange a high-five with the red-headed boy he strongly disapproved of.

"What's wrong?" Jun asked.

"It's that Korean boy. Asuka's being far too careless around him."

"Oh, he's a sweet darling. Dependable too, like Jin."

"Once a delinquent, always a delinquent, Jun."

" You can't be too sure of that. I think he can be trusted with Jin and Asuka."

"Well, I think we'll see about that soon enough..." He left it at there.

XXXXXXX

Rang swung his backpack more securely over his shoulder, as he walked back home from the Mishimas', humming tunelessly and thinking of his Baek-free days to come( Baek had had to leave for San Francisco, as the dojo he'd set up with his friend Law was facing a crisis.)

"Yo, Red!"

Rang turned around. He was met with one of those hardened hooligans who prowled his neighbourhood at night. "S'up, bro?" he greeted warily, instantly switching to neighbourhood slang.

The older boy said," Them cops been snoopin' 'round, tryin' to bust this place up. Been real hard, deliverin' our stash, ya feel me? So how about helping a brother out, and doin' it for me? One-shot deal, man." He offered a small, suspicious looking parcel, along with a wad of cash.

Rang shook his head and scoffed. " You gotta be kiddin' me, man. Got busted with pot, once, been outta the life since. There ain't no way in hell I'm goin' to juvie. You got the wrong guy."

He made to walk away, but the other boy grabbed his shoulder." Now we got a problem. 'Cuz if you ain't gonna do it for cash, then me and the guys got other ways of makin' you do it!"

Rang pulled out of his grasp, smirking." Yo, if you and your boys think I'll be pissin' my pants, then you got another thing comin' to ya, man! 'Cuz I ain't no push-over!"

"Oh, yeah, then bring it on, little man!" And he punched Rang.

XXXXXXX

_An hour later_

The fight ended badly for Rang. As expected of any twelve-year-old versus seventeen-year-old fight. Rang had to have two stitches done at the local clinic, but he made it back to his neighbourhood just in time to see the police arrest his attacker.

"Hey, you got this all wrong, man!" Rang heard him plead to the cop who handcuffed him. " Some dude set this whole thing up. Paid me a hundred bucks up front to see if I could get Red to go back to the old life."

"Been smoking too many joints, Big D," the cop said in a bored voice.

Rang, however, was jolted. " Hey, that guy, what did he look like?"

"Dunno, man... tall, looked Asian, weird spiked up hair, real creep..."

Rang's mind reeled.

XXXXXXX

Back home, Rang sat on his bed, icing his bruised face._ Man, Mish-mash's dad had it in for me from day one. Never thought he'd go so far. Bastard set me up to see if I'm still into dope dealing. Well, I sure as hell passed his stupid test. But if Baek finds out I've been in a fight, he'll ground me for life..._

The phone rang, making him jump. _Man, could Baek know already?_

But it was Jin's tentative voice that greeted him." Hey, Rang."

"You?! How'd you get my number?"

"Julia gave it to me."

"Well, I'm not in a mood to talk, specially to you, people! And don't you ever call me again, Mish-mash!"He made to hang up.

"Training camp," Jin said hastily.

" Wha- now we're talking, and you got one minute!"

" Xiao and her parents are spending the weekend out of town, and Wang-sama'll be alone. He wants to take us somewhere so we could train, tomorrow."

" And who else is Old-Head taking along? Is it gonna be a five-of-us or a two-of-us?"

"A two-of-us, I guess."

"Just me and you, huh, Mish-mash? Heh, who knows what might happen..."

"Who knows..."

"What time?"

Jin told him.

"WHAT?"

XXXXXXX

It was a little after five a.m when Jin and Rang found themselves taking the bumpiest ride of their lives in Wang's old pickup truck .Wang, who was wearing a straw hat, had insisted on bringing a lot of gear, which Rang had dumped unceremoniously onto the back of the truck.

"Just tell me something, will you?" Rang began from his cramped space. "Why do we have to be sneaking around at five am?"

"Because," Jin replied, spreading a large itinerary map of the state before him,"it's going to be a long drive."

Wang was a rather unreliable driver. He seemed cluless about directions and relied on a patient Jin to point them out. He often seemed to forget that he was driving a vehicle, humming loudly in Chinese, and barely avoided a collision.

Two hours later, a frustrated Rang asked for the umpteenth time," Are we there yet?"

"I think so," Jin said.

XXXXXXX

Training camp turned out to be a remote wooded area , surrounded by hills and mountains. It was still dark and chilly when Wang asked the boys to strip down to their vests and shorts, amid Rang's loud protests. "It's cold, man, and what's this, fishing gear? I thought we were gonna train!"

"Aiya, fishing is an important part of training! Teaches patience, young man, patience," Wang replied. He went to the bank of a nearby lake, where a small boat was moored, and the boys followed. They crowded the boat, and were soon learning how to row( Rang got a smack in the head with Wang's paddle for splashing him with water), and to use fishing poles. The fishing involved a lot of fruitless waiting, and Rang finally snapped.

"That's it, man! I'm through!" He stood up so abruptly, that the small boat lurched sideways violently and he was thrown into the lake. He broke the surface almost instantly, cursing and shivering.

Wang shook his head, clicking his tongue disapprovingly." Aiya, I brought no towels!"

"What, all this gear you got, and no towels?!"

Jin held out his hand to help him back on board." I think there are leeches in this lake."

"Leeches-Ouch, what the-"Rang pranced around in the water, trying to avoid the source of discomfort.

XXXXXXX

Wang soon assigned them their next task. The sun was now beating heavily down on them, as they made their way up the highest hill, struggling against the staggering pile of equipment they were forced to carry. They were supposed to collect samples of a rare herb for Wang, and he forged ahead of them, chevvying them along.

"Come, boys, look lively now, not much further to go."

"You said that like ten minutes ago!" Rang called.

Rang's temper grew more heated as they crouched in the brush, collecting specimens. He wiped the sweat off his face with a hand, and said through gritted teeth." Man, if I could get my hands around Wang's skinny neck-"

"You shouldn't have touched your face. The ivy you were just handling, I think it was poisonous."Jin stated.

And soon enough, angry red rashes began to creep up on Rang's face.

XXXXXXX

Task number three involved scaling a ten-foot greased wooden pole, with weights, and retrieving a red scarf from its top. Wang clearly stated that they were not to take a bite out of lunch until they accomplished the task. Jin did it on his fifth attempt, while Rang somehow just kept slipping down the closer he came to the top. Rang cursed profusely, and resumed his maniacal upward scramble, but his last fall almost winded him. Jin admired his determination, and came over and offered him half his lunch, but Rang shook him off, and got to his feet, panting.

"You know what, Mish-mash," he said." I don't think this is gonna work out. You and me, I mean. I came here to become stronger. Now I find out I'm being kicked around by some old geezer who's just having a laugh. Now I feel pissed. Now I just wanna fight you, here and now!"

"Not gonna happen, Rang."

"Oh, yeah!" He rushed Jin, and his kick stopped mere centimetres from Jin's face. Jin did not even blink.

"You know, you're just...just unbelievable," Rang said finally, throwing up his arms in pure frustration." I can't believe you, man..." He stalked off, heading for the mountain.

XXXXXXX

Rang did not return for the next hour, during which Wang trained Jin in Tai-chi. To Jin's surprise and delight, Asuka and Julia soon arrived, having accompanied Julia's mother on one of her field projects.

"Hey, Jin," Asuka greeted." Glad we had an excuse to come up here. Where's Rang? Did he chicken out?"

"He's, well, sulking, somewhere there." he pointed to the mountain.

Asuka sighed." I seem to remember Rang sulking after every conversation that ended with ' I won't fight you, Rang '. "

"Right."

"Well, don't you think it's time to give him what he wants, so he can get off your back?"Jin did not answer." I'll go see if I can knock some sense into him, then."

XXXXXXX

Rang was manoevering one of several treacherous mountain paths when Asuka found him. "Hey!" she called out.

He wheeled around." How'd you get here?"

"Long story. Jin said you were out here sulking. So are you done yet?"

Rang grimaced. "Funny. I didn't get the impression I was missed. Look, I get it ,how you people like to have a laugh at me whenever you can: Wang, Mish-mash and his dad, you. Trying to make me look like a dumbass, or like a bad loser."

Asuka rolled her eyes." Believe me, I didn't come all the way here to gloat. Just to set things straight. Jin doesn't want to fight you, not because he doesn't take you seriously, or whatever, but because he _doesn't want to make waves_. He wants to be your _friend_, not your _rival_. Can't you get this into that thick head of yours?"

"Doesn't want to make waves, my ass! Your brother's just a confrontation-phobic nancy-boy, and you're just Daddy's spoilt little girl!"

"Hey, take that back!" she shouted.

"Bite me!" he yelled back.

There was a sudden blast from above like a canon . Rang looked up, yelled,"look out!", and flew at Asuka. There was a great din, mingled with Asuka's screams, then silence.

XXXXXXX

When Asuka came to, she was lying on a hospital bed, which was odd, since she felt there was nothing wrong with her.

"I see you're up now, Sleeping Beauty." She turned her head at the voice, to see Rang sitting on a bed a couple of metres away, reading what looked like a comic, and eating jellybeans. The bandage around his head was bloody, his left arm was in a sling, and his face and arms were covered in bruises and lacerations.

"What...what happened?" she asked fearfully.

"Oh, nothing," he replied nonchalantly." Just the occasional mountain avalanche. "

"But... you...pushed me away... I remember now."

"You cut your forehead when you fell, but that was it. Me, no such luck," he indicated his injuries." Hey, want some jellybeans?" he tossed her a packet.

"Thanks... for saving me, I mean..."

"Sure... you got a real high-pitched voice when you're mad, you know, worse than Loony's, even. Near damn brought the whole mountain down on us."

"Oh, haha, you were the one asking for it, you jerk! You _made_ me angry!"

"Oooh, look at the Invincible Asuka: Don't make me angry, you won't like me when I'm angry... " he laughed and tossed her a comic." Here, read all about the Invincible Asuka, er, Hulk; I'm gonna go for a walk."

XXXXXXX

Rang was walking down the hall, when a horribly familiar voice called out,"Boy!" He froze and waited, then turned around to see Kazuya Mishima mere inches away. "Look, I didn't do it, okay?" whatever 'it' was, he had no clue, but he figured the elder Mishima was about to accuse him of starting the avalanche. His fear of such an accusation outweighed his anger at Mishima's 'test'.

Kazuya smirked." Guilty conscience, eh, boy? No, I'm not about to lay accusations. But, ah, you seem to be walking around- a good sign, considering... And you dropped something, by the way." He thrust this 'something' into Rang's hand and swept off.

Rang gaped at what Mishima had given him. _Two tickets to the season's soccer kick-off!_ Rang chuckled to himself; so this was Mishima's twisted way of saying sorry for setting him up, and thank-you for saving Asuka! Not bad, considering... Jin must have told him that he liked soccer next thing to Tae Kwan Do, and speaking of Jin...

"Hey, Rang."

"Hey yourself, Mish-mash," he replied, still inspecting the tickets to see that they're genuine.

"I just want to say...well, thank you, for saving Asuka yesterday."

"You're not the only one," he said, staring in the direction Kazuya took.

"...and, I , uh, have something to offer, if you like."

"You only got one thing I want, Mish-mash,"

"Yeah, I was coming to that. June. That's when I'll fight you. At the Annual Free Martial Arts Tournament. The Under Fifteen Division."

Rang stared at him. "Whoa, so you wanna go public, huh?"

"Not really. Just want to make you a big enough offer."

"Heh, heh, well I better start making plans for the reward money, 'cuz I'm game!"

"That's good." Jin smiled. " June it is, then."

Rang watched him walk away, then steeled himself to say," Hey, Mish-mash! I think we should seal the deal with something more than a promise; it's not right if we don't."

"So what do we do?"

Rang grinned, waving his tickets around." D'you like soccer matches, Mish-mash?"

Jin smiled back." Who doesn't, Rang?"

XXXXXXX

_**A/N: Okay, I apologise for the lack of involvement of characters like Xiao, Steve and Julia in this chapter. This was more of a Rang-centred chapter. How he gains Kazuya's trust (at least for the time being), how he sorts out his rivalry with Jin, how he interacts with Asuka(yes, I'm seriously entertaining your suggestion, P.O.J.A; I hope this chapter reflects that.). Other characters will get their spotlight, I promise. Btw, Rang does seem to like soccer-his Tekken 6 item move is to kick a soccer ball. **_


	9. Chapter 9:Helping Out I

**Chapter IX: Helping Out (I)**

_**A/N: I don't own Tekken. Yes, I know I haven't updated this in ages, so I'm giving you a very lengthy update to chew on this time! Oh, and maybe you noticed that this fic is divided into Story Arcs. There was the Early Childhood Story Arc, and the Meeting the Gang Story Arc, which concluded last chapter with the establishment of some sort of trust between Rang and Kazuya, and the "agreement" between Jin and Rang. This chapter begins a new Story Arc; it's called "Helping Out", and it doesn't involve the "big fight", but Jin(with Rang's reluctant and inadvertant help) sorting out the other gang members' problems. Oh, and this Story Arc introduces more characters in the mix. So... today's object of Jin's attention is... Ling Xiaoyu!**_

Jin and Rang's unwritten "pact" meant that the two of them could finally get along, at least until the end of the truce in June. Indeed, in the next few days, both boys, along with Steve, bonded rather well, prompting the girl in their group to start calling them "the trio". True, Rang never missed an opportunity to taunt Jin, but the latter's liking of him deepened with each passing day. There was something there, a certain charm, an undeniable charisma, that drew Jin to the Korean.

But Jin knew there was a huge flaw to Rang's character: Rang liked to poke fun at people, to great excess, and the butts of his jokes sometimes included Xiaoyu, Asuka, Julia, and Lily(never mind Jin himself), who were technically his friends. Yet, despite that, Rang remained vastly popular, so popular in fact that the majority of the student body began to look at Jin with a new respect, now that he was on good terms with the red-head. But Jin found that he could not turn a blind eye to Rang's condescending attitude.

_International School of Cambridge, Mid-September_

It was lunch break, and Jin, together with Steve, was strolling through the school grounds, at ease. Steve was giving him an earful; another blow-by-blow account of last summer's World Cup. Like Rang, he was an avid soccer fan, albeit with the British tenacity that made him use the term "football", even on American soil.

Jin listened with polite interest, his eyes straying over to where Rang stood, on one of the soccer benches, entertaining a sizeable crowd of students. Jin couldn't hear what he was saying, but the other kids were laughing their heads off. Then the red-head began to bounce up and down on the balls of his feet, emitting high-pitched aqueaks and pretending to swoon. This cruel imitation of Ling Xiaoyu, which sparked off a fresh gale of laughter, brought a deep frown to Jin's tranquil features.

As though sensing Jin's eyes on him, Rang suddenly leapt off his pedestal, waved lazily to his admirers and hangers-on, and sauntered over to the other two boys.

"Hey," he greeted, linking his arms behind his head.

Steve replied in kind, but Jin merely nodded. There was a tense silence for a moment, but then a shout went up and the trio turned their heads in its direction.

"Uh-oh, here he comes," Steve muttered.

A different crowd was now swarming around a tall, black boy with dreadlocks, who carried a soccer ball under one arm, They watched as the boy failed to extricate himself from the mob, resigned himself to his fate, and proceeded to perform neat soccer tricks to appease the fans.

"Darn, this guy plays like freaking Ronaldino!" Rang commented with reluctant awe. " Gonna be real tricky getting him to sign us up for this year's team."

"Who is he?" Jin asked.

" That, there, is Eddy Gordo, tenth grade Brazilian boarder and captain of the school's football team," Steve replied. "Among other things, too."

" Yeah, people seem to think that he's number one DJ or break-dancer or something," Rang said dispassionately.

" We don't _think_, we _know_, Rang!" an unfamiliar voice said. Jin turned to the newcomer, a tall, slender and dark-skinned girl, with long brown hair. She looked slightly older than the trio, and was glaring hatefully at Rang.

"Eddy _is_ number one, " she said with a touch of pride, in acknowledgement of Jin's inquisitive look.

" Yeah, thanks for throwing in your two cents, Christie," Rang scoffed. " You can go back to worshipping your Brazilian Bonbon now."

The girl sneered. " Well I've never been a fan of yours, Rang, and I'm not about to start now, so yeah, I think I'll just go, but I didn't _throw in my two cents_ yet." She took a deep breath and turned to Steve. " You know, Steve, I've lost count of how many times I told you to stay away from this jerk here, but I'll say it again because this new kid here deserves to know. " She smiled at Jin. " Jin, right? Julia told me about you. And like I said, you'd stay away from him if you knew what's good for you, or he'd have you tugging on his pocket in no time, just like he did with Steve-" she glared at the blond, " and those other idiots out there, " she jerked her head at Rang's posse and departed in a huff, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.

" Um, for your info, Mish-mash," Rang finally said with a grimace. " If you don't want to-what was it again, oh yeah- _tug on my pocket_, I won't force you to."

Steve laughed appreciatively and Jin allowed himself a small smile. It was hard not to like Rang, despite his faults. Surely Christie was exaggerating?

XXXXXXX

But for Jin, the charm soon wore off. They had maths straight after lunch, and with a collective sigh, the class produced their textbooks.

"What's wrong?" Jin asked when his deskmate Xiaoyu gave a little moan as she rummaged frantically in her bag.

"Can't find the textbook," she said with dismay. " It's gone, _again_!" The tone with which she said it made Jin glance behind him, and sure enough, Rang and Steve had their heads together, conspiring. When Rang caught his eye, he grinned like a cat about to snare its prey and even had the gall to tip him a huge wink, while Steve looked away, uncomfortable. Jin faced front again, sighing inwardly. What was Rang playing at?

" That's okay," he said to Xiaoyu kindly. "We'll share." he placed his book between them.

" I'll still get detention, though," she muttered, eyes downcast. He looked at her. He was getting all sorts of vibes from her these past few days: trepidation, uncertainty, restlessness and excitement; she was just as easily readable as Asuka, only he had no idea what those feelings were doing beneath the cheerful surface. He determined to find out later.

" You won't."

The teacher came in and surveyed his class. " Bookless again, Miss Ling?" he tutted.

Jin's fist punched the air. " The bookless one would be me, sir." Beside him, Xiaoyu made a curious little noise; Asuka frowned and Rang leaned forward, intrigued by Jin's altruistic act.

The teacher sighed. " I need to know how far you're willing to go with this claim, Mr Mishima."

" All the way, sir," Jin replied, without the slightest hesitation.

" Then I'll have to give you and Miss Ling separate detentions. It's not your place to cover for offenders, Mr Mishima."

Xiaoyu hung her head. _Sorry_, she mouthed.

Jin shrugged.

XXXXXXX

Jin cornered Rang after school.

" I think you ought to get off Xiao's case," he began sternly, arms folded.

Rang rolled his eyes. " And I think you misunderstood this whole "deal" between us. See, the fact that we have to be buddies till June doesn't mean you're in any position to boss me around, Mish-mash, 'kay? And anyway, I've always been pulling the Bookless Act with Loony; it's like my monthly fix!"

" Don't call her that!" Jin flared.

" Or what, Mish-mash?" Rang laughed.

Jin gave no reply.

Rang smirked in triumph. " Yeah, just what I thought! Oh, and Loony's book is in one of those unused lockers down the hall. You can take it to her, or she can find it herself; it's up to you."

XXXXXXX

_Ling Xiaoyu Residence_

Jin sighed. Rang was turning out to be... obnoxious. There was no better word for it. Jin had been so eager for a close friendship with the Korean that he'd been willing to believe that the whole attitude was one big charm act, but now the red-head's "charm" was spinning out of control, and Jin wished they could go back to Rang's " You'll fight me, Mish-mash!" one-liners, and his own one-syllable responses, so that he could go out of his way to avoid the Korean, like he used to, and hear accounts of how he had heroically saved Asuka, and not witness his meanness first-hand.

All those thoughts were going through Jin's head as he sat across from Xiaoyu on her bedroom floor, her recovered maths book forgotten between them.

"You look like you're in La-La Land," Xiaoyu remarked.

Jin was jolted out of his reverie. " La-La Land?" he said with a slight smile.

Xiaoyu blushed." Like, you're, you know, drifting off..."

" Oh... Got a lot on my mind, I guess."

"Mmm... I'm so sorry by the way, about this whole book thing. I should have told the truth. I was like, _c'mon Xiao, 'fess up_, but this other voice in my head kept saying_ Xiao, what are you doing? You and Maths teachers big no-no, remember?_"

" Um, I'm not sure I follow. Do you mean to say that you're scared of Maths teachers?"

" Uh-huh," she said. " Ever since I was little." She giggled. " No idea why, though!"

"Ah.." Jin's mind raced. He wanted to say something that would make her feel better. For some reason, Rang's smirking face popped into his vision and he vaguely wondered what the red-head would say in a similar situation, if the girl in question wasn't Xiao. Probably invent an amusing math teacher joke to make her laugh. Jin sighed; his mind just didn't work the same way. So he took a different approach.

" Um, something bothering you?" he asked tentatively, recalling the vibes he kept getting from her.

"Na-uh," she replied." I mean, Rang, well, he's just being Rang. I'm used to him."

"No i didn't mean Rang." He stared intently at her, sensing an immediate burst of nervousness, before she recoiled away from him with a slight shudder, eyes wide.

"Sorry," he muttered, breaking eye contact.

"S'okay," she said. " I just had this weird feeling that you were reading my mind or something!" she laughed.

Jin smiled. _ Be careful_, he chided himself.

" But I'll tell you what's bothering me," she went on. " Only, you have to promise not to laugh!"

"I'm not about to; I'm not Rang."

She giggled." Yeah, I'm pretty clear on that!" She paused, took a deep breath. " Well, you know, our school has this tradition-the Fall Talent Show; it's coming up in two and a bit weeks, and well, I'd really like to try out for the Singing Sensation part." She winced, then dared to take a peek at his face.

Jin blinked and his face broke into a genuine smile. " Then go ahead. I think that's great!"

She blushed. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. When are the tryouts?"

"Two days. Christie's in charge of the whole thing. I'm not sure you know her; she's not in our year."

" Ah, I think I might have seen her around." He stood up." You'd best start practicing."

XXXXXXX

The next day, during lunch, Jin and Xiaoyu broke away from the rest and met up in an unused classroom.

"Okay, so here's what we're gonna do," Jin began. " I'll play a little something on the harmonica, and you'll sing a few bars. Just to see where you are with things."

" What are you gonna play?"

He paused. " A song we usually sing in music class. Uh, how about _Country Roads_?"

"Sounds good."

Jin lifted the instrument to his lips, and they were off.

_" Country Roads_

_Take me home_

_To the Place_

_Where I belong_

_West Virginia_

_Mountain Mama_

_Take Me Home_

_Country Roads..."_

She broke off, flustered, and asked," So how was it?"

"Uh, sounded like a rusty hinge squeaking," a voice said. Jin turned to see Rang lounging in the doorway, smiling his Cheshire cat smile. " I'd never again open my mouth if I were you, Loony."

"And I'd back off if I were you, Rang," Jin said wearily. He looked at Xiaoyu; her face was as pink as her bangles.

" Sure, Mish-mash, but I'll come back when I have ear muffs." he sauntered off.

Xiaoyu sank into a chair. " My voice is sooo wrong!" she moaned.

"No, it's just..." Jin began thoughtfully." You'll have to sing from here," he pointed to his diaphragm. " Let it all come out of there. Can you do that?"

She nodded and her second attempt was better than the first.

"That's good, Xiao, really good."

"Thanks!" she beamed." You're coming to the tryouts?"

"Wouldn't miss them."

XXXXXXX

But one of the school supervisors rescheduled Jin's lunch detention to be on the same day as the tryouts, and consequently, Jin missed them. When he finally made it out of the detention hall, Asuka was waiting for him.

"Rang turned up at Ling's tryout," she began with a heavy scowl." That jerk totally ruined it. He put his feet up on Christie's desk, started banging around with a drumstick and said totally mean things. Poor Ling couldn't even get the lyrics right."

Jin sighed and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. " So who did Christie pick?"

"Emily Roquefort," Asuka said distastefully." I have to admit, she's pretty good when she's not putting on a nasal French accent." She looked at Jin and bit her lip. " I hate to say this, but you'll have to have a word with your red-head 'friend' about this, or I will, and it won't just be words we'd be exchanging, then!" she clenched her fists.

Jin sighed again. "All right, I'll deal with this. Where can I find Christie?"

XXXXXXX

"A duo?" Christie echoed skeptically. " i don't know, Jin..."

"And why not?" Jin said. " Lily and Xiao can sing together at the Talent Show, can't they?"

"Christie folded her arms. " Do you know how hard it is to find a proper musical duo? They have to be in complete harmony. Their singing, their timing, their appearance, their body language... I just don' think Lily and Ling are compatible. And..." she hesitated. " Don't take this the wrong way, but there's something... off, about Ling."

"Off? In what way?"

"As in, she has a severe case of stage fright."

"That's it?" Jin was relieved. " Nothing that removing Rang from the equation won't handle..." he muttered. Surely that would restore Xiaoyu's confidence? " So, um, just give it a thought, and talk to Lily about it for me. You know I can't." He didn't add, _because for some reason, she seems to hate me_. That would come off as childish. Instead he said," I mean, you're in charge."

She sighed. " I'll think about it." She suddenly smiled. " You know, I can think of someone who's more compatible with Lily, only that someone is, well, a _boy_- Steve." she laughed. " Both blonds and all, and I'd put Steve on stage any day, just to hear that funny accent. It's to die for!" She laughed again. " Oh, and can you tell him that I'm rooting for him to make the soccer team?"

"Mmm.." Jin said, feeling awkward. He knew liking when he saw it, and again, he thought of Rang and what he'd do in this case. Probably yell out Christie's crush to the whole school in no time...

" I wouldn't care one bit if that red-head jerk didn't make it. God, he was terrible last year; I'm sure they were glad to get rid of him as a boarder..." Christie was saying.

XXXXXXX

Christie eventually agreed to Jin's proposition.

"So," she began in the music room, where she, Jin, Ling, Lily, Asuka and Julia were gathered. " Duoes... very tricky to find; there aren't many good ones around. So we're gonna show you what to expect through an example. Julia?" And Julia came up to join Christie at the mike, and the two of them began to sing _ Colours of the Wind_ by Vanessa Williams.

_" You think you own whatever land you land on_

_the Earth is just a dead thing you can claim_

_But I know every rock and tree and creature_

_has a life, has a spirit, has a name..."_

The pair captured the essence of the word 'harmony' and left the others speechless.

"You know," a voice drawled from the doorway." I might not need ear muffs after all. Awesome, Jules!" Rang came into view, winking at Julia, Steve in tow.

"Get out, Rang, we're trying to work here," Julia said.

" And I'm trying to watch here," he countered.

"And do any more than that and I'll personally kick you out," Christie flared.

"I'm right behind you," Asuka said, hands on hips.

"Whatever." He went in and took a seat, rudely propping his feet up on the table in Christie's face.

Jin went up to Xiaoyu. " It's okay," he said." Pretend he's not there.. pretend he's some big stuffed Panda bear!" he sought wildly.

Xiaoyu giggled. " Then he's got to be the ugliest I've ever seen!" he smiled.

Christie clapped her hands. " All right, Ling, lily, you'll have to do even better than us. We'll get you to sing some songs and see which one suits you most as duo..."

And they were off. Christie pulled all the shots, Julia and Asuka gave constructive criticism, Rang was quiet, for once, and Jin struggled hard to bury his disappointment, because it became clear after many performances of several _High School Musical _ songs, that Lily and Ling made a lousy duo. But it was possible that Rang's mere presence flustered Xiaoyu, so Jin remained hopeful.

XXXXXXX

_Rang Do San Residence_

Jin steeled himself to do what must be done, and as he rang the doorbell, he mentally rehearsed the telling-off he had in store for the Korean._ Enough is enough, Rang, you better learn to respect other people, otherwise that deal we made, it's off, and our friendship goes with it..._

A tall stern-looking man answered the door. Jin knew him to be Baek, Rang's surrogate father, who told him stiffly that Rang was in the shower, and that he could wait in the red-head's room.

Jin sat on Rang's bed and looked around: car posters on the wall, comic books on the shelves, computer on the desk, stereo system on the floor.

"Wotcha doing in my room, Mish-mash?" Rang had come in, wearing a vest and shorts, his hair damp and hanging about his face.

" Your dad said I could wait for you here..."

"Oh...well,you gave me a start, that's all..."

"Listen, Rang, we need to talk-"

But Rang cut him off. " Yeah, you're probably here about Loony, so unless you want us to talk something else, I got nothing to say." He walked over to the stereo system and bent down to inspect it.

Jin's anger bubbled." No, you really have to listen, Rang!"

" Yeah, I'm gonna listen all right, just not to you." He pushed the 'play' button on the stereo. Loud music blared, accompanied by a female voice:

"_To the beat of my heart, it sweeps us apart.."_

"What the-"Rang quickly pushed 'stop' and ejected the CD.

Jin looked at him, incredulous.

Rang held up his hands. " Hey, hey, I don't listen to that! I was just babysitting the neighbours' kid-her name's Valerie- and she likes this crap!"

"Put it back on," Jin said softly.

"I- what?" Rang asked, taken aback.

" That song, I want to listen to it."

Rang finally obliged, and as Jin listened to the song, a smile appeared on his face, and all his anger evaporated. "Rang, you're a life-saver!"

XXXXXXX

"Jin! Jin!" It was Christie, tearing down the hall after him. She stopped and faced him. " I don't know where you get those instincts, but oh my God, you were absolutely right, this _is the perfect song_ for them! And I did what you said to do; asked Eddy to distract Rang with soccer tryouts, and Ling did super without him there!" she gushed. "Hey, Eddy!" she called suddenly, as Eddy walked past with friends. " I picked a song for the Singing Sensation. _The Beat of My Heart_, by Hillary Duff."

"You sure about that?"

"Positive!" she beamed.

"Okay, then."

She turned back to Jin. " I'm gonna go look up outfits for Ling and Lily. This year's Singing Sensation's gonna be a big hit! Thanks for helping out, Jin!"

Jin smiled. " Don't thank me. Thank Rang."

XXXXXXX

On the night of the Talent Show, Xiaoyu and Lily were the picture of girlish glamour. Christie had them both dress in fashionable tops and jeans, but whereas Xiaoyu's theme was pink and black, Lily's was gold and black. Both girls had gold and silver glitter sprinkled sparsely on their clothes and faces, pink gloss on their lips, painted nails with bright pink polka dots, and loose hair arranged the same way Hillary Duff's had been on the _Lizzie McGuire _show. They sang as one, danced as one, and established a rythmic beat that held the audience enthralled.

_To he beat of my_

_To the beat of my_

_To the beat of my heart_

_I'm thinking about,_

_Letting it out._

_I wanna give in,_

_I wanna go out._

_Been looking around_

_I've finally found,_

_The rhythm of love,_

_The feeling of sound._

_It's making a change,_

_The feeling is strange._

_It's coming right back._

_Right back in my range_

_._

_Not worried about anything else,_

_I'm waking up_

_To the beat of my,_

_To the beat of my,_

_To the beat of my heart._

_The beat of my heart,_

_The beat of my heart,_

_The beat of my heart,_

_It tears us apart._

_The beat of my heart,_

_The beat of my heart,_

_The beat of my heart,_

_Now I'm back to the start._

_To the beat of my,_

_To the beat of my,_

_To the beat of my heart,_

_I'm up from my down_

_._

_I turn it around._

_I'm making it back,_

_I'm not gonna drown._

_I'm taking a stance_

_._

_I won't miss a chance._

_I want you to see_

_I'm not scared to dance._

_The way that you feel_

_Could never be real._

_I want you to know I finished the deal._

_So I'm sayin to you_

_I'll always be true._

_To the rhythm inside,_

_To the beat of my,_

_To the beat of my,_

_To the beat of my heart,"_

People applauded them them when they were done, asked for encores even, and then Julia stepped onto the stage and took the mike. " Ladies and gentlemen, let's all give a big thank you to the organisors of this year's Singing Sensation: Christie Monteiro, Jin Mishima and... Rang Do San!"

People clapped, and Rang clapped along, before it dawned on him. " Wait, what?"

Steve laughed and gave him a playful shove, winking at Jin. "That's your curtain call, mates!"

Jin, Christie and a mystified Rang walked up the stage, as music continued to play in the background. Rang found himself standing between the two glamorous stars, with Jin on Xiaoyu's other side, and Christie on Lily's. The audience gave them a standing ovation, and in the din, Xiaoyu giggled giddily and said, " Aww, Rang, I never knew you had such great taste in music!" The red-head glared at a smiling Jin, then turned to look at Christie. To his horrified fascination, he noticed that Lily Roquefort was beaming at him, something she had never done before. Then, in her moment of glamour, she steeled herself and pressed her lips to his cheek, in a very fleeting kiss that was nevertheless captured by the cameras.

"Aw, man, if someone puts this pic up on Facebook, I'm gonna kill 'em!" Rang said, but he was grinning.

It was an event to remember.

XXXXXXX

**_A/N: 4000+ words! So what do you guys think? Mmm, I think Rang was a tad too mean this chapter, but then again, life was being mean to him last chapter. And Jin, he's such a goodie-two-shoes, isn't he? But if he forgives Rang his meanness this chapter, that doesn't mean he'll stand for it next chapter, when twin Asuka needs helping out. Yes, Rang's meanness to his friends is definitely one issue that needs resolving... Oh, and Rang/Suki fans, I'm sorry for the limited interaction between the pairing this chapter, but I can promise you a lot more of them next chapter. On the plus side, it's the Xiaoyin fans' lucky day today, also the HwoLily fans(see last scene)Hmm, I notice an explosion of HwoLili fics these days; the winds of change! And special thanks to Dil, for putting the idea of Ling&Lily as a singing duo into my head! If any of listen to The Beat Of My Heart, you'll notice it has a very rapid beat, and a really good rythm and tune, and I thought it was worthy of preteen Lily and Xiao. If you beg to differ, then please excuse my ignorance; I'm not an authority on music, lol. I also believe Julia and Christie make a good duo, and I couldn't think of a better song for them than Vanessa William's Colours of the Wind; it appeals to Julia's nature, plus Vanessa herself is African American, so Christie singing would sound sort of like Vanessa singing._**


	10. Chapter 10: Helping Out II

**Chapter X: Helping Out (II)**

_**A/N: I had a dream last night... about owning Tekken.**_

_**Hey you guys! Here I am, bringing you the tenth chapter,**_

_**probably much earlier than expected,huh? Well, I was **_

_**motivated! And as you can see, it's pretty lengthy, and it**_

_**took me two days to write to perfection. So a little more**_

_**incentive won't hurt **_

It was the Saturday afternoon after the Talent Show. Steve's Aunt Anna was finally able to live up to her promise to Lily Roquefort, and had also extended an invitation to the rest of the girls. And so it was that Asuka, Xiaoyu and Christie found themselves tagging behind ,and being occasionally buffeted along by a gaggle of excited shoppers, as they all roamed a huge Beverly Hills-based, glass-and-chrome shopping mall.

" Come along, dears," Anna called to the girls, chevvying them into an expensive girls' boutique. Once inside, they all split up, each girl seeking her own style. Anna sat on a bench, one leg crossed over the other, her purse in her lap. She watched as the girls carefully picked through the clothes, and made several helpful observations and suggestions.

" Auntie Anna, lookie what I found!" Xiaoyu gushed loudly, almost tripping over herself in her excitement to show her "Auntie". A heavily made-up, snobby-looking shop assistant frowned her disapproval at Xiaoyu's antics and Anna smiled apologetically. Unabashed, Xiaoyu held out her finding. It was a low-cut, pale pink top with a brilliant splash of some glitzy, silvery pattern.

" That's awfully nice, darling. Go on, try it." Xiaoyu did not need telling twice. When she came back, it became apparent that it was a perfect fit.

"Wow, that's a really cool design," Asuka, who was hovering nearby, remarked." Too bad it's pink!"

" Oh, no!" Xiaoyu giggled. "There are blue ones too! Really cute periwinkle blue! I'll go get one!"

She returned with the blue match, but Anna took it from her. " That's _your _ size, Ling darling, but I'm afraid it won't do for her."

"And why not?" Asuka demanded.

" You happen to be a bit more, um, _ stocky_, dear."

" Stocky?! What, is that like fat?!" Asuka instantly flared. The assistant glared at her and she glared right back, not caring one bit.

" No, absolutely not, dear," Anna replied quickly, looking positively harassed.

" Then it should fit me the same way!" And she stormed off into the fitting rooms.

" Oh, dear," Anna muttered.

XXXXXXX

Asuka did not emerge for a long time, so Anna went to see her, persuaded her to unlock herself and sighed at what she saw.

" You know, darling, a blind man can tell that this thing's so tight, it practically bites into your flesh."

" No, it's fine!" Asuka replied with little conviction.

" Be a dear and try this one." She handed Asuka a similar top.

" But that's like one size larger than Ling's!"

" Trust me, hon, that's your size."

Asuka's expression hardened. " You know what, I don't think I want it anymore."

Anna massaged her temples. This child was even more difficult than Steven.

XXXXXXX

Asuka wandered past the skirt and dresses section, where Lily was doing a marvellous job of filling up her basket, muttering to herself in French, stuck her toungue out at the stuck-up assistant's back, then joined Christie at the jeans section. Christie was holding up a long, midnight-blue pair adorned with pretty pink butterfly designs, and complete with a belt and a butterfly-shaped clasp.

" Whoa, these are awesome! Can I try them, please?" Asuka asked excitedly.

"Well, I guess," Christie replied, casting a dubious glance at Asuka's shorter, fuller figure. The latter did not miss the gesture and in turn frowned at her friend's tall and willowy frame.

The jeans fit, but they were a tad too long for her. Christie said no problem, they could get any tailor to shorten them, but Anna dashed Asuka's hopes when she declared them to be "unsuitable for her body type" , but that they would look "simply marvellous" on Christie.

Asuka fumed.

XXXXXXX

Anna shepharded the girls from one stylish shop to another, and they compiled numerous shopping bags, yet none of them were Asuka's. It was quite depressing, to be finally sitting at a table in the food court, watching them all consume super-sized sundaes(hers lay untouched) and "ooh" and "aah" at each others' clothes, as they swapped them around. They were a warm ring of friendship and comfort, with her presently sitting outside it. She supposed she could have taken whatever Anna had picked for her(and they were very nice items), but it really riled her up how different she was from the other girls, and that had ruined the whole shopping experience for her. She bit her lip and tried not to cry.

XXXXXXX

" ...And I couldn't get the things I liked... and apparently, I'm the shortest, and the stockiest, whatever that's supposed to mean!"

Asuka stood in Jin's room, by the door, ranting to him about her day, while he sat cross-legged on his bed, reading from a textbook and taking notes. " You're being silly, Suki," he said, scratching away with his pen.

" Okay, tell me, why do I have to be one size larger than the rest of them?" she ploughed on. Jin said nothing.

" And what about Momma?"

Jin looked up, uncertain where she was getting to. " What about her?"

" She's tall, and she looks like a model. You all say that I look like her, but I'm not like that!"

Jin snorted. " Suki, Momma's all grown up. You're only twelve. Things like that, they take time, okay?"

Asuka crossed her arms and huffed. " I'm not as fit as them!"

Jin sighed. " You're being silly," he repeated dully.

XXXXXXX

_International School of Cambridge_

" That's such a strange and silly thought, Suki!" Xiaouyu giggled.

Asuka frowned." You sound just like Jin!"

For some reason, Xiaoyu blushed and fell silent. Asuka looked around the school grounds, at the throngs of chattering students. She grabbed Steve's arm as he passed by.

" Hey, Steve, do I look even remotely fit to you?"

" Whoa, easy there!" He looked downright alarmed.

"Say it!"

" I guess... I mean, I'd rather you asked Aunt Anna; she's the expert- Hey!" he protested, as Asuka bodily shoved him into a group of tenth-graders.

" Whoa, do my ears deceive me?" A voice drawled. Rang appeared, along with his cronies. He smirked at Asuka." You _really _ care about that kinda stuff?! Wow, just who are you and what the heck did you do to Asuka Mishima?" And he breezed by, followed by his guffawing entourage.

XXXXXXX

Before long, the whole school seemed to suspect that Asuka was feeling insecure about herself. She became the butt of nasty jokes and comments overnight.

"Hey, you're taking up too much space already!" A kid from Rang's gang would taunt.

" Ha, the Deadly Duo: The Carrot-Stick and The Tub-Of-Lard!" Another would sneer, referring to her and Xiaoyu.

Asuka would clench her fists and mutter," I'll _kill_ Rang!"

The other girls would try to console her. " Hey, don't bother with those jerks. The ISC is like a small town, and people have nothing better to do than to gossip and say mean things," Christie would say disgustedly.

"And besides, " Julia would add, " Rang _may _have sparked it, but he doesn't have much to do with it. He doesn't hang out with those boys as much as he used to. He goes around with Jin and Steve, and he has soccer practice with Eddy, remember?"

" Na-uh, he's still one big jerk," Christie would counter.

XXXXXXX

" Asuka, are you all right? You're not eating." Jun asked with concern.

" I'm fine...not hungry," she replied in a subdued, almost mechanical voice. Jin looked side-long at her and frowned.

" I'm tired of hearing this over and over," Kazuya said." What's eating at you this time?"

"Nothing, really..." she pushed back her plate, stood up, muttered something about unfinished homework, and left the room.

Jin watched her leave, then he too, got to his feet. " Excuse me."

XXXXXXX

Before long, Jin had the whole story out of Asuka, narrated in the special telepathic speech they shared, because she would have succumbed to tears otherwise. He did not waste anytime in calling Rang.

" 'Lo?" The Korean said when he picked up.

Jin plunged right into the subject. " What's all this stuff I hear about you, Rang? Being my friend, then stabbing me in the back with my sister?"

" Dunno what you're on about, Mish-mash," Rang said nonchalantly.

" No, I think you do, and correct me if I'm wrong, but we did this little dance before. Last week. With Xiao. Bottom line is, leave Asuka alone."

Rang was irritated." All I did was make one lousy comment, and they picked it up!"

Jin pounced."_They _being part of _your _exclusive club."

Rang was beginning to lose his cool." What! It's a free country, Mish-mash! I can't go around telling them to stop bugging people! It'll make me look so bad, I'll lose my school rep-"

" _Hey!_ " Jin snapped, cutting him across. "It's either _US _ or _ THEM_. Make your choice." He abruptly hung up, sincerely hoping his firmness would pay off.

XXXXXXX

_The ISC_

Asuka's spirits were quite poor as she and the other seven-graders rummaged in their lockers for their PE shirts and shorts.

" Suki, we're gonna be late for PE!" Xiaoyu called.

" I can't find my shirt- urgh, what the-"

" What's wrong?" Xiaoyu hopped over to check.

" Someone took my shirt and left this one! Size XXL!" she yelled in outrage, then raced outside.

" Hey, wait up!"

XXXXXXX

Rang was already warming up by the soccer benches, wearing his new soccer jersey, accompanied by Steve( he was angry with Jin for hanging up in his face, and refused to be within sight or earshot of him.)

Asuka strode over, full of purpose, followed by a timid Xiaoyu. The boys had barely had time to say hello, before Asuka snatched the can of energy drink Steve was carrying, and sloshed its contents all over a stunned Rang's front.

The shock lasted a split second, during which Xiaoyu uttered a faint gasp, before Rang was flying furiously at Asuka, a stream of swear words escaping his lips. Steve seized him just in time, and Xiaoyu tentatively grabbed Asuka, who struggled mightily, an enraged look on her face. She could not break free, though, because Jin, who had sensed her rage from afar, had a strong mental hold on her.

_Stop it, Suki_!

XXXXXXX

At home, Asuka kept to herself. Jin was worried; their parents had gone out for the evening, and the twins were all alone. Jin had to keep his mind sharply tuned for incoming signals from hers, otherwise who knew what she was capable of in her recent state... but he also had an important test the following day and he needed to revise. Half an hour into his revision, Jin heard the unmistakable sound of glass shattering in the next room. He bolted up and threw Asuka's door open, to see her huddled pitifully in front of her full-length mirror, staring miserably at her bloodied fist. He raced to her side and consoled her as best as he could, then called Julia Chang and asked her to come over.

XXXXXXX

Rang was having a second round of car racing on his PS2 when Jin showed up, unannounced.

"This ends right here!" Jin began, with an uncharacteristically furious look on his face, turning off the television.

"This better not be about Asuka again, bro!" Rang huffed.

" You and I , we're not bros!" Jin replied, his voice cold as ice. " And if you think for a second, that I won't call off our deal,_ right now_, then you've massively underestimated me!"

" Hey, which part of ' I didn't do anything ' don't you get, Mish-mash?!" Rang fired up." I didn't do nothing, and your brat sister still ruined my brand new soccer jersey!"

" Let's be clear about something," Jin hissed in reply. " She ruined your _jersey_, you helped ruin her_ self-esteem. She_ is what I care about, not _you, _or your stupid _jersey_!" Jin took a deep breath, withdrew a large glass shard and a bloodied piece of cloth and tossed them over to Rang. The Korean boy gaped at them." it's all very simple," Jin resumed. " You man up, and tell your buddies to lay off, because their actions are beginning to ruin people's lives."

XXXXXXX

_The following day, after school_

Rang was still in his school uniform, sitting on a bleacher in his gang's corner of the local park, alone. He was truly facing a dilemma. He could confront his gang and lose face, or he could ignore Jin, who would certainly end up bringing in Mr. Mishima on the whole thing, and Rang would lose more than just face.

He stared at the grisly items Jin had given him, lying at his feet on the grass, and he shuddered in spite of himself. He'd heard of how people could snap and do horrible things to themselves, but he'd never thought Asuka, the epitome of female arroggance and power, would crumble. What a difference a sneer and a hurtful remark could make! He was suddenly confronted by the great power he held over people, the power to charm them and the power to break them, and it suddenly frightened him, so much that he did not want it anymore. He chewed his nails nervously, and his eyes flicked this way and that with guilt.

" Ah, I did not expect to see you here at this time." The voice startled Rang out of his reverie. It was Wang Jinrei, Xiaoyu's great grandfather. Rang groaned inwardly; he had forgotten that Old Father Time worked here.

" Yeah, I was just thinking..." he replied reluctantly.

" Well, that would save a few unnecessary fights..." Wang's arthritic old hands moved to his breast pocket, and he slowly withdrew a small, ruffled looking bird. He straightened its feathers and said, in response to Rang's questioning look, " A red-breasted robin. The poor little thing broke its left wing, and I tended it. Now I need to make a long trip, and it is not quite mended yet, so would you please be so kind as to care for it in my absence?" Rang opened his mouth to say something, but Wang forestalled him." Xiao is kind and caring, but I'm afraid she is too easily excitable."

Rang smirked; in other words hyper and clumsy. " Yeah, sure, Gramps," he knew exactly what to do with it.

XXXXXXX

The first thing Rang did when he returned home was to open the lockbox where he kept his savings. He had amassed quite a lot over the summer, doing odd jobs and spending sparsely, for once. He'd even been employed by Lily, who was a very generous payer despite her other faults, to locate her favourite cat Misty, which had gone missing(no-one had suspected Rang of stealing it and stashing it in his room. He'd had a great laugh about it with Steve later). It was time to make amends.

He hit the mall, more specifically, his favourite clothing store. He went straight to the sales-lady, who'd become an acquaintance because of his frequent comings, and asked," Hey, remember that outfit I got for last Christmas? Do you still have the complementary female outfit?"

" Yeah, it's at the back, but, uh, we're not having a sale on it like last time."

"That's okay."

Rang paid up, with the tiniest of grimaces. _Goodbye, precious savings!_

XXXXXXX

The following day, during break, Rang was talking to Steve, when his cronies made a bee-line for Asuka and the girls. He stood up and walked over to them, and noticed out of the corner of his eyes Jin watching him from afar. He sighed, muttered, " I am sooo done with talking," drew back his fist, and punched one of the offending boys in the face. The others looked dumbfounded. Rang reared his fist again," Any other punk wants a shiner?" There were several angry responses, but no one stepped up, and they eventually scattered. " I didn't think so!" Rang smirked triumphantly.

He noticed Asuka looking at him like he had three heads. " Sorry for the late save, I've had time to think things through. If you wanna talk about it, then meet me at Wysteria Park, an hour after school. If you don't wanna... I'll understand."

XXXXXXX

When Asuka returned home from school, she had a couple of surprises waiting for her in her room. A bird cage sat on her desk, and Asuka stared at the little brown bird with the splash of red at its breast. It cocked its head at this new arrival and made a few inquisitive chirps. She smiled, sat on the bed and noticed the package. She opened it, and could not supress a loud gasp. She took out the red halter top, the black shorts with the flame pattern and the sleeveless jacket and admired them at length. It was a sleek and glossy looking outfit, complete with a belt and matching boots. She read the typed-up note attached.

_" You couldn't find the right clothes, but guess what, you were looking in the wrong places! Kiss the girly/ditzy/ pinky look goodbye, girl! Who needs another Ling anyway?"_

Asuka succumbed to fits of laughter. She should have known it was all from Rang. Just when she had thought she was full of hate for his guts, he'd gone and done something to redeem himself: saved her life, beat his cronies, got her a pet bird and wonderful new clothes. Maybe they should fight more often,so she could see what he would come up with next. She hurriedly threw on her outfit and raced out of her room.

" Momma, Daddy, I'm gonna go out for a bit!" All Kazuya saw as he put down his paper was a flash of red and black.

XXXXXXX

Asuka raced to Rang's favourite spot in the park, stopped to catch her breath, cupped her hands around her mouth and called, " I know all that stuff's from you, Rang, and I know you're here, so come out already!"

Rang stepped out from behind a tree, grinning reluctantly. She noticed how similar to her outfit his was: fiery red sleeveless top to match his hair, black jeans with red flame designs, held up by a black snake-skin belt, plus the boots.

" Nice, huh?" he said." The two of us look more like twins than you and Mish-mash do, now!"

She folded her arms across her chest, and pretended to look thoughtful." Hmph, aren't we forgetting something here? Oh yeah!" And she punched the unsuspecting boy in the gut.

Rang groaned, and clutched his stomach." Okay, so I was a bit of an ass, and I deserved it a bit."

Asuka made to kick him in the shins, but he jumped back, landing with his feet apart in a defensive stance." Okay, okay, I was a _huge _ass, and I _totally_ deserved it. How's that?"

" More like it!"

"So, um, are we good?"

" I guess... I did name that cute bird Rang, you know..."

"What?"

She put on a heavy scowl. " Got a problem with that, _ birdbrain_?"

" I'm flattered , actually," he smirked." You think I'm _cute_!"

"Aaaargh!" She wailed when she realised her mistake, and lunged for him.

He held up his hands." Truce! I gotta show you something. These boots aren't just boots; you press this thing right here and you get yourself roller blades!"

That distracted her." That is so cool!" She bent down and transformed her boots.Then she got up, shoved a grinning Rang away, and called back," Race you!"

XXXXXXX

On his way home, Rang bumped into Jin, who looked his old, quiet, uncomfortable self again.

" So, um, I guess you knew that _Asuka _means " soaring bird" in Japanese..." Jin began awkwardly, referring to the red-breasted robin.

" It does? I mean, yeah, I already knew that, thanks," Rang replied, gauging his rival. Jin did not seem to be expecting an apology from him, but was in fact trying to apologize himself, so he played along. " Thanks for helping me sneak all the stuff into her room."

" Yeah, anytime..." A long moment's silence." Look, I'm awfully sorry for being short with you before..."

Rang waved the apology." It was a nice change, seeing the bad-ass in you, Mish-mash. I think I could get used to it. After I kick your ass in June, that is." He grinned at him and Jin returned the gesture, and for a moment the two boys stood smiling at each other with shy liking.

" I'll see you around, Rang," Jin finally said, and began to walk away.

" Sure, and don't blow any more fuses before the Tournament, okay?" Rang called after him.

Jin waved his hand to show that he understood and appreciated the joke.

XXXXXXX

_**A/N: Phew, I sure hope it wasn't all a long bore! How was bad-ass Jin? Poor Asuka; I'm sure many girls can relate. As for Rang, I couldn't afford to make him any meaner; he was already getting a lot of heat for his less-than-friendly attitude last chapter. Anyways, I just want to give you a heads-up: I'm gonna be bringing new characters Leo and Miguel into this Story Arc. Up next, we have either Steve or Lily.. I'm undecided. Now, would you please press the BBB( Blue Button Below) XD**_


	11. Chapter 11: Helping Out IIIa

**Chapter XI: Helping Out (III)**

_**A/N: (Enter infinite apologies for not writing/reviewing of late). Are there any writers out here who're currently in Law School? If so, you guys gotta help me out! Tell me exactly how I can lead a double life as an undergrad law student and a fanfic author, cuz I'm not finding any balance so far. And I thought I'd have this chapter put up much earlier, but my stupid laptop reset before I could save it onto my word-processor, so be extra kind in your critique. And Namco owns exclusive rights to Tekken, and any violation of afforementioned copyright will incur severe sanctions in accordance with...(Not sure which Act), but enough with the Legalese( Yeah, my head is bursting with all these legal technicalities, so bear with me.)And this is a VERY VERY long chapter. I couldn't have it any other way, sorry.**_

The Rang-Asuka crisis was quick to pass, becoming nothing more than a tiny speck on the concerned parties' horizon, as the gang all settled back into their daily routines. Jin's relief was short-lived, though, because another matter grabbed his attention: Emily Roquefort's long-standing show of general hostility towards him and Asuka, which he could trace back to day one; when she had found out that they were Mishimas. Jin painfully recalled how Lily had always refused to sit with them, to visit them and to play their games( the only one she'd played to date was the Indian Wars at Julia's), and he could not pretend that Lily kissing Rang-the boy whom she normally couldn't stand- at the Singing Sensation, while completely ignoring him, despite his colossal contribution, wasn't a serious blow to his ego, meager as it was. If peace were possible with Rang, but not with him, then Lily must really _loathe_ him, Jin reasoned, and he found that thought greatly depressing.

"She's just a snob," Asuka, who was no more fond of Lily than Lily was of her, snorted dismissively, when Jin had tried sounding her out. " I mean, didn't you hear any of those stories? We're really not the first to receive her Royal Highness's Cold-Shoulder Treatment, trust me, so don't even think about her. She's a waste of your brain-space."

Such one-dimensional judgment did not satisfy Jin, but while it was certainly true that Lily was highly aloof and condescending to most, some people-Christie Monteiro prominent among them- could easily engage her in civil conversation. He didn't know Christie long enough to comment on the two girls' relationship-the Singing Sensation saga might have been strictly business- but he _did _ know the Brazilian boarder well enough to determine that Rang, at his best, would not be able to elicit more than a couple of angry snarls from her, business or no business. If Christie could bear to alienate Rang, but not Lily, then there was definitely more to the Monacan girl than would meet the eye. And he was determined to find out...

XXXXXXX

" ...So why is Lily like that? Is it me? Do I offend her or something?"

Jin was sitting hunched over a textbook, across from Christie and Julia, with whom he was sharing a desk at the library. Rang sat two tables away, flicking paper planes in boredom, while Steve doodled beside him. Asuka was chiding both boys, and Xiaoyu, oblivious, was fiddling with her rubber, her eyelids beginning to droop. There was no sign of Lily.

At his strained whisper both girls looked up, and Jin was quick to note their reactions: Christie let out a hiss like an angry cat, and Julia clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"Don't ever say that again, Jin, " Christie sternly reprimanded. "There's nothing wrong with you. You're righter than _most_. " She threw a dirty look at Rang, who had just burst into raucous laughter, as one of his little toys landed in the dozing Xiaoyu's hair. Christie flicked a page of her book with unnecessary force, and Jin could detect, underneath the annoyance, strong vibes of nervousness, and knew he was getting warm.

"You didn't answer the first question," he persisted. Julia began to fidget uneasily, so Jin zeroed in on her. "I _want _to know."

Julia glanced at Christie and said, " Well, I think he has the _right_ ."

Christie flared her nostrils. "Fine. But look, Jin, this can NEVER get out, okay? Don't even tell Asuka, and make darn sure neither Rang or Steve get a whiff of it."

Jin nodded vigorously. "You have my word."

Julia began the tale. "It' hard to understand, but Lily is the way she is because, well, it's her-what do you call it?- _defence mechanism_."

Jin furrowed his brows. " Defence from what?"

"The whole world, " Christie replied. " See, Lily's life is so unstable. She came here last year, but before that, she'd been in French girls' schools, English Catholic schools and Japanese boarding schools."

Jin needed no further guidance in interpreting Lily's motives: She couldn't make any long-lasting friendships, what with being uprooted every so often, and so she had stopped trying, preferring to distance herself from people and treat them callously, so as to prevent her getting attached to them.

Jin shook his head. " But she gets along fine with you and Julia and Xiao, and even Steve and Rang, when they're behaving. So why Asuka and me?"

Christie and Julia exchanged uncomfortable looks. "Well," Julia said tentatively. "Let's just say, she feels an, um, _kinship_ with us."

Before Jin could question her, Christie interjected, " Don't take this the wrong way, Jin, but you and Asuka are so much better off than the rest of us. You have each other and your parents, and you were born and raised here. I'm an outsider, and I have nobody but Eddy, and Grandpa back home. Julia has only her mother, Steve's mom and aunt spend more time arguing on how to look after him, rather than _actually_ looking after him, and Rang has a row with Baek-who isn't even his father-every other night. Even Ling wishes she had a sibling or two. So ,yeah, Lily can relate to us."

"Lily's an only child. Her mother's been dead for years, and her father works too hard and hardly has any time for her, " Julia added helpfully. She looked at Jin with concern. " You're not upset, are you?"

Jin was already shaking his head halfway through Julia's sentence. "No, not at all. I understand." But he didn't. Not fully. Something was missing. "What can you tell me about Mr Roquefort?"

"Awful, awful man, " Christie responded vehemently( Jin sensed she was eager to divert attention from Lily's jealousy of the Mishima twins' good fortune.) " He gives her everything she might need or want; spoils her rotten, and then disappears to Europe on business, for like weeks. And then whenever he feels like it, he whisks her off to another country at the other end of the world, enrolls her in a new school, and expects her to start a new life. That's good parenting for him."

Julia winced. "Oh, come on," she began fairly. "He thinks he's doing the right thing. Must be really hard without a wife."

"Huh? The only 'right thing' he's done for her was to give her her mom's necklace to keep."

Jin had never seen the necklace, but that didn't matter. He sensed he was just being sidetracked. " What are you not telling me? Julia?" He turned to the girl imploringly.

Christie sighed, smiling sadly. "What a nose you have, Jin! I'm gonna tell you, but you won't want to hear it: The other reason why Lily didn't like you from the start is because your father is giving Mr Roquefort a lot of trouble at work. Mr Mishima's company is threatening Roquefort Enterprises, and Lily's father is stressed out from the competition. So he has even less time for Lily now. There, happy?"

The pieces clicked into place, and Lily's irate_, "Urgh, Mishimas! Don't even talk to me!"_ suddenly made all the sense in the world. Jin inclined his head towards the two girls. " I see now... "

He must have looked troubled about it, because Christie sighed and said, "Look, Jin, I know you have this _thing_ where you feel all responsible and want to help out, but if you step in, you'll make it worse. And you're not even supposed to know, remember?"

Julia quickly added, " And don't even beat yourself up over it. It's not your fault. I'm sure Christie and I can talk Lily around."

"I've no doubt, " Jin said respectfully, even as his mind flipped from one uncertainty to another.

XXXXXXX

Jin was distracted from thinking through the Lily-situation by an unexpected arrival at their school during luchtime that day. By the time he'd taken a seat next to Rang and Steve on one of the soccer benches, the whole yard was packed and he had a vague idea of what was going on: A high-ranking police officer was about to prep them about shootouts and hostage situations.

Officer Lei Wulong was a rising star at the LAPD. Of Asian descent and average build, the man was dressed casually in jeans and a jacket, his gun holstered at his hip, his long dark hair sleek and shiny.

"Hey, everyone! Nice to see such a big crowd!" His voice took Jin by surprise. It was relaxed and enthusiastic, and lacked any of the tired and jaded tones Jin had come to associate with men of duty who'd seen it all." You guys probably know me from the Jacky Chan Appreciation Society," (Some students snickered, and Lei indulged them with a smile), " but I'll just go out with it anyway. I'm Detective Lei Wulong, Interpol, LAPD, yaddada. Fifteen years's worth of experience in shootings and hostage situations under my belt, experience which I'm looking forward to unload on you, cuz to be honest, my belt is getting kinda tight anyway." He chuckled as he patted his middle, and a ripple of laughter spread across the yard. Already the general sentiment was that Lei was a very 'cool guy'.

Jin rather thought that Lei's body language, from the animated expressions, to the constant flap of hands to emphasize each and every word, was fascinating to watch.

" Schhol shootings are particularly notorious, nowadays, and each and every one of you should take steps to ensure- hey, you back there!" Lei let loose a crumpled piece of paper, which hit Rang square in the forehead. Apparently, Rang did not share Jin's interest, and had been quietly whispering with Steve, both boys inattentive.

" Oh, yeah, it's_ you_!" Lei suddenly grinned. "Step up here, if you will, kid." And Rang stood up and made his way over, grumbling. "Okay, guys, meet LA County's star juvenile delinquent, who achieved celebrity status a coupla years back, when he'd _tried_ to smuggle two pounds of pot past an off-duty cop, said cop being me, and said delinquent being none other than your very own Rang Do San!" There was applause from the student body( though Jin suspected the appreciation was directed at Rang's botched attempt to break the law, rather than Lei's successful attempt to uphold it).

"So how was boarding school?" Lei asked Rang. " Better than juvenile hall?"

"Same, really, cuz I still got to learn how to make a shank out of a Hello Kitty toothbrush, " Rng replied smugly.

An outraged gasp followed. "Rang, you jerk, that was mine!" Xiaoyu's words elicited a gale of laughter.

Lei chuckled. " I'm impressed. You're already acting like a seasoned con. Let's just hope you didn't have to use the shank. It's five years for aggravated assault, and with your record, the judge will happily happily throw in an extra dime."

"Not if the judge knows how to count, "Rang sneered. "Cuz I'm six years from hitting eighteen. Don't look so shocked; I've got a right to get to know the laws I'm about to break."

Lei laughed again and clapped Rang heartily on the back. Then he got down to business. " You guys probably heard of school shootings. Sad, real sad. And you gotta be prepared if some whack suddenly walks into the cafeteria and starts shooting. You gotta run, and you gotta do it in a specific way: Duck, weave, and dive. Makes a sort of an erratic zig-zag pattern. Now I've got blanks on me, and Rang here'll be the first test subject..."

XXXXXXX

"Do you think we'll ever have to apply the stuff he taught us?" Asuka asked worriedly, as she and Jin made their way to the school's main gates at the end of the day, ahead of the others.

"Anything's possible, " Jin replied distractedly, back to worrying about Lily.

Asuka suddenly stopped in her tracks, and Jin bumped into her. " Oh my Gosh!" she squealed. "Daddy!"

And there was their father, who was supposed to be out of town on business, leaning against the sleek black Porsche, looking out of place in his long dark trenchcoat, and not caring one bit about it.

Asuka greeted him with typical over-enthusiasm, almost knocking him back into the open trunk of the car.

"And it's nice to see you too, Asuka," Kazuya said evenly. He took Jin into a rough, one-armed embrace.

"What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't be back till Monday!" Asuka gushed.

Kazuya frowned. "Last time I checked, a self-employed man could afford to leave work at any moment's notice to pursue the more leisurely activity of picking his children up from school, Friday afternoon. Nothing unconstitutional in that."

Asuka giggled and tugged his arm. "So New York isn't all they say it is?"

Kazuya rolled his eyes. " If by ' all they say it is' you mean ' cold, wet and miserable', then yes, it is. Here, let me." He relieved Asuka of her backpack and dumped it in the trunk, then did the same with Jin's. "Hold on a moment," he said as the twins made to get in the car." What's all this I hear from your mother, Asuka? About the weekly mathematics assessment results? Are you finally beginning to conform?"

" I guess so, " Asuka replied, quite pleased with herself.

"Well then," Kazuya sighed, and briefly brushed Asuka's head with a hand, " I'll uphold my end of the deal; you can have those little terrors you call friends over for dinner tomorrow." Jin smiled, knowing his father was mainly referring to Rang, while Asuka whooped.

"Oh, and Daddy-dearest, "she began in her best daddy's girl imitation voice. "May I have a cellphone? Cuz Lily has one. She has _everything_!"

At the mention of Lily's name, Jin instinctively looked out to the side of the street, where a shiny black limo was parked. The Monacan girl was shooting him and his family resentful and-by God!- envious looks, while making a good show of angrily remonstrating with her butler/driver, Sebastian, because he had dropped one of her schoolbags.

And at that moment, as his eyes met Lily's tormented ones, Jin could have told Asuka up front that Lily had in fact precious little compared to the two of them.

XXXXXXX

At Jin's request, Christie had exercised her considerable influence with Lily to convince the latter to come to dinner along with the rest of the gang. At the time of his request, Jin had been determined that Lily not be excluded from the gang's activities, as a form of compensation for her own dissatisfying family life, but he hadn't really thought that inviting her over to his home could trigger even more envy and resentment.

But he finally realised his error in judgment-too late- as the girls, including Lily, stepped into Kazuya's study to say hello, after greeting Jun in the foyer. Jin was with his father, and both were engaged in the delicate task of fitting the clipper ship-the one that the twins had bought their father in June, now complete- into a glass case, and mounting it on the mantelpiece.

The girls made the perfunctory greetings, and Kazuya returned them, while Jin's eyes instantly alighted on Lily's-now wide as coins. What did she think of his father, casually dressed as he was then in pullover, jeans and sneakers, and tainted with woodshavings and glue from the work on the ship? Surely she must have compared him to her own father; a harried-looking, prematurely lined man in a dishevelled suit and uneven collar and tie, rushing to take calls on his numerous cellphones? Surely she must have contrasted the imposing man in the trenchcoat, waiting for his children by the Porsche, to the passive one who'd sent a lowly butler in his stead? And surely the jealousy must have been eating at her insides, gnawing her heart? Jin closed his eyes and cursed himself for his stupididty. The next few hours would be insufferable...

XXXXXXX

To Jin's enormous relief, Kazuya had to take an urgent call and rush down to the office, but Lily's fleeting look of gloating triumph did not last long. As Kazuya passed by the children, who were setting up the table in the garden, on his way to his car, Steve muttered. "You know, you're awfully lucky, mate. Your dad stays home most of Saturday. Me, I consider myself lucky if Mum shows up on Easter Sunday."

"Oh, please, suck it up!" Rang snorted. "At least you're not Lily. The only way her old man would ever _notice _her existence, is if some thugs kidnapped her and asked for a big, fat ransom. And then he'd still be more worried about the pocket change he'd be losing if he paid up."

Jin gritted his teeth; he badly wanted to punish Rang for his tactless comment, but Asuka beat him to it, kicking Rang in the shin. Lily took the blow to her dignity surprisingly well: She set her jaw, raised her chin and strode purposefully back into the house, no angry retorts whatsoever.

But she did not say two words to any of them during dinner, or after when they played in the Mishimas' attic.

XXXXXXX

Jin and Asuka were cleaning up after dinner, when they heard their father enter the house, on the phone with someone. Not a minute later, Kazuya's voice boomed, "JIN! My study, NOW!"

Kazuya was seething with anger, and Jin could easily see why. The clipper ship, which they'd laboured over for three months, lay on the floor, its mast snapped cleanly in two, its protective glass casing in a thousand shards.

"Did your little Korean friend wander into my study, by any chance?" Kazuya asked with gritted teeth.

Jin bent down to assess the damage. His back to his father, he replied quite evenly, " It wasn't Rang."

"Then who the Devil was it?"

Jin did not immediately reply. He had his eyes closed, inhaling the slight whiff of French perfume in the air. He should have known that her reaction to Rang's comment had been far too stoic; that the dam would break, sooner rather than later. _What have you done?_ When he opened his eyes, he was resolute.

"I think it can be fixed, Pa. Thank God for the glass case. It took most of the damage."

And he left it at that.

XXXXXXX

School became unbearable for Jin. He could not bear to show his face before Christie and Julia, who by now must have realised Jin's role in further aggravating and upsetting Lily, despite his knowledge of her plight. So he spent lunch break with Ling Xiaoyu in the yard, practicing Tai Chi, and trying to ignore the gnawing guilt, but he always felt the burn of Lily's resentful gaze on his back, whether she was sitting on a nearby bench, chatting to Christie, or arguing heatedly with Rang. He was watched, censured, mistrusted, and it was all his fault.

As he was waiting for Xiao to pick herself up from the ground one day, after their last round, he became aware of Steve hovering nearby, watching him uncertainly.

"What is it?" he asked uneasily.

Steve sighed and dug his hands in his pockets. "To be honest, I shouldn't be talking to you about it, but..." he smiled weakly." Rang and me aren't exactly known for making sound decisions, so.. I just wanted to give you a heads-up."

"What are you talking about?" Jin asked, intrigued.

"Well, Lily's considering taking Rang up on that comment he made the other day, at your place." He swallowed." She's planning to pull off a, um, fake kidnapping, with Rang and that butler of hers, with a ransom note and all.Figures it to be the best way to get Daddy's attention."

Jin's eyes flashed. "Are they serious?!" he cried in outrage.

Steve shook his head. "It's all Lily's idea, and you know that fellow Sebastian would do anything she says..."

"And Rang, why is he in?"

Steve shrugged. " Like I said, mate, he's not the best decision-maker. That'd be, uh, you." He looked away. "Luck, mate."

XXXXXXX

Jin marched up to Lily, who was deep in conversation with Christie, Rang and Julia sitting nearby.

"I'm sorry if it's a bad time, but we really should talk, Lily, " he began firmly.

Lily turned her face away. " I have nothing too say too you."

"Yeah?" Jin challenged, bunching his hands into fists. " Then maybe you should talk to Christie, see if _she 'd_ approve."

Christie shot both him and Lily a curious look, but did not intervene.

"Zis has nothing to do wiz you, or anyone else, " Lily declared haughtily.

"Hey, back off ,man, it's her cho-" Rang began, attempting to restore the peace.

"You, shut up!" Jin exclaimed, pointing a finger at Rang." You're in enough trouble as it is, for suggesting the whole thing! And I swear, this'll be the last time I clean up a mess that you've started!" Jin's eyes were alight with a flaming, almost manic, intensity, and Rang could only stare slack-jawed as the Mishima boy reasserted his authority over Rang, the way he had done during the last crisis.

Jin took a deep breath, and fixed his gaze on Lily. " It has nothing to do with me, true, but you're wrong in saying that nobody else is concerned. Let's think outside the box for a moment, and see who's gonna be most affected by your kidnap act. Wouldn't that be your father? Think of all the pain you'd cause him, if he believes it; think of how much he'd suffer. You love your father, Lily, and you don't want to hurt him, do you?"

By now Lily was on her feet, and had covered the whole distance between her and Jin. Her face was inches from his as she said, with a sneer worthy of Rang, "You're a hypocrite, Mishima. You tell me not too hurt Papa, while you and your family tweest ze knife zat you already stuck in hees back."

Jin's expression softened, despite the insult. " Believe me, Lily, I understand your pain, and I-"

But Lily did not let him finsih. She drew back her hand and delivered a stinging slap to his cheek.

"Lily!" Both Julia and Christie exclaimed in shock, while Rang was too stunned to speak.

But Lily was beyond caring. Pointing a shaking finger at Jin, already near tears, she cried, "Doant you ever say zat again! Because you weel NEVER know what it feelz like!"

"Maybe, "Jin acknowledged in a firm voice, ignoring the humility, " but there's another way out of this... There's always another way."

But Lily stormed off, leaving behind a numb Jin to trace the wake of pink left by her palm on his smooth, boyish cheek.

XXXXXXX

_Three Days Later_

Lily's plan was in full motion, and the police had already wasted valuable resources trying to locate her "kidnappers". Although Jin was not part of the plan, Rang and Steve felt pressured to let him in on the details, such as Lily's temporary hiding-place; the basement of a dilapidated office building that Roquefort Enterprises planned to demolish in the near future.

Jin's guilt grew day by day, and it manifested itself in a hot flush whenever the bereaved Mr Roquefort made an appearance on TV, pleading for the safe return of his daughter. In those instances, he would abruptly get up and leave the family room even before his parents could begin to suspect him.

Kazuya finally visited Jin in his room. Jin was slumped over his desk, in a guilt-ridden trance, and he did not become aware of his father's presence until he felt the light thud of the mug of milk as it was placed on his desk, and the firm but sympathetic tone of his father's voice.

"Is there anything you want to tell me, Jin?"

Jin sat up straight and blinked. " No,Pa. Well, the usual, maths assessments and things like that."

Kazuya pursed his lips. "Let me rephrase the question. Is there anything you're_ obliged _to tell me, by your duty as my son?"

A nervous smile fluttered across Jin's face, and he decided to gamble. "I'm obliged to tell you by duty of _law_, actually." He sighed and buried his head in his hands. Then his fingers slowly receded from his face, and he confessed; he unloaded the baggage.

"...And, by God, I knew it was wrong, and I kept thinking of what Momma always tells us about deception; that it's so very wrong... I wish I could have done something to stop her, " Jin concluded ruefully.

Kazuya had been non-committal throughout, and now he asked, in a colourless voice, "Where are your friends keeping her?"

And here, Jin steeled himself for the ultimate test. He would need some assurances on his father's part before he parted with Lily's location; his bargaining chip.

"I'm awfully sorry, Pa, but I can't tell you that." His voice was surprisingly steady. "Not unless you can promise me that Rang and Steve won't get into trouble for helping Lily." The two boys might have acted stupidly, but they were still his friends, " and another thing, " he grimaced. "Lily is upset that her father works so hard trying to keep up with competition from your company, Pa. If you could cut him some slack or something, so he could spend more time with Lily."

Kazuya's eyebrows rose at Jin's audacity and his willingness to bargain with his own father for his friends' wellbeing." Hmph... I'll see what I can do, "he finally conceded.

So Jin revealed Lily's hide-out.

Kazuya shook his head. " They should have at least chosen a safer neighbourhood."

Jin opened his mouth to respond, but swiftly closed it. Was his father actually _condoning _the set-up?!

"Surprised?" Kazuya smiled wryly at his son. "You should be." He sighed. "I never told you about my father, because you're far too young to be exposed to dirty family laundry. Suffice to say that I spent my childhood in a fruitless quest to prove my worth to my father. I did all sorts of unpleasant things, all to gain a slice of his attention and approval. So when the Roquefort girl goes and does what she does, I would be lying if I said that I don't sympathise with her, even if I happen to disapprove of the method she used."

Jin's spirits were lifted at his father's understanding, yet he was saddened by Kazuya's brief description of what seemed like a very unhappy childhood.

"I'm really sorry, Pa, about your father, " he offered.

Kazuya smiled and ruffled his son's hair affectionately. " Nothing to be sorry about. It's all in the past.I-"

But they were interrupted by a knock at the door, and Jun entered, carrying the cordless phone. "I'm sorry, Jin, but Rang wants to talk to you. He sounds really upset."

Jin jumped to his feet and eagerly snatched the phone, his heart racing. "What happened?"

Rang's voice was laced with fear and despair. "She's gone, Mish-mash, she's gone!"

"Lily? What d'you mean she's gone?" Jin grabbed the edge of his desk for support.

" I hear voices outside the basement when I'm on look -out, I go to see what's up, and the next thing I know is that I'm on the ground with a lump the size of a pigeon's egg on my head- _ and Lily's gone!_"

**To Be Continued...**

_**A/N: Yeah, there's no way this thing's gonna be resolved this chapter. I tried, I really did, but I'm drained, plus frustrated that the whole thing got deleted in the first place. I'll go on R&Ring fics tomorrow morning. **_


	12. Chapter 12: Helping Out IIIb

**Chapter XII: Helping Out III(b)**

_**A/N: I apologise for the late delivery of this chapter. It's just that I was mulling over the fate of this fic as a whole. I've developed chapters for Miguel, Leo and Steve in my head. And I'm so very glad that Namco came forward with this Lars; now I can use him for the next story arc instead of some fabricated character I've been trying to develop.**_

_**As usual, it's Namco that owns Tekken( and occassionally, some good can come out of it.). Please remember to re-read the previous chapter before attempting this one, since they go hand in hand. And please bare with me, this chapter is sinfully long.**_

" _Oi, Mish-Mash? Mish-Mash?MISH-MASH!!!"_

Kazuya Mishima had enough presence of mind to gently pry the cordless phone out of his son's stiffened fingers. He promptly disconnected the call and set the phone on the desk, then leaned against it, his arms folded, his cool gaze levelled on Jin.

Jin stood motionless in the aftermath of the unsettling twenty-second call, his head hung low, his shoulders slumped, his dark bangs conveniently obscuring his eyes. His heart beat like a drum, his gut roiled, and his brain disintegrated into tiny crystalline pieces, each piece, along with the afforementioned organs, trying to convey to him some significant meaning attached to the situation at hand, a meaning that eluded his understanding.

No. That he was fearful of understanding was more like it.

It was his father who roused him from his unresponsive state with his characteristic directness. Kazuya first looked to Jun, who was still framed in the doorway, her brow creased with worry, her eyes seeking assurances, then he turned away and cleared his throat.

"Well?" he prompted a little gruffly. " Miss Rochefort was taken, wasn't she?" He paused, carefully monitoring Jin for some sort of reaction. " And by _real _villains, this time."

At that, Jin's head snapped up and he met his father's gaze with all the eloquent sorrow of someone who'd just delivered a moving eulogy. Kazuya frowned, his suspicions confirmed. He continued to watch as Jin's hands fluttered convulsively to his hair, as he began to rake the raven locks with his fingers.

The pristine reputation Kazuya had built for himself in the business world had not been founded on weakness and indecision, and so he demonstrated this by instantly taking stock of the situation.

" Put on your jacket, Jin. We're stepping out."

And he swept out of the room, brushing away Jun's unspoken questions with a hand, and muttering, " To think something like that would actually happen..."

XXXXXXX

" So this is the place?"

Jin nodded. Through the fast-approaching night and the murky canopy of industrial pollutants that forever blanketed this less than savoury section of the city, Jin could make out the once-grand, now derelict , office building that Steve had described to him.

"Alright, then."

Father and son climbed out of the car with an air of purpose, the latter struggling to match the former's lengthy strides.

The basement Lili had taken for a temporary lair was a shabby affair with a floor and walls marred by so much dirt and grit, it was difficult to determine their original colours and textures. The air, too, was stale and irritating to the lungs. The only items in the room were a matress in one corner, on which a folded blanket and a red backpack lay, and two stools. Earlier, Jin had called Rang back and requested that he stay put, and there he was, pacing nervously about, accompanied by Steve and their other accomplice whom Jin recognised to be Lili's butler-driver, Sebastian.

The two boys rushed towards Jin with cries of relief, but drew back at the sight of his father. Kazuya, conscious of the promises Jin had exacted from him, ignored them for the time being and directed his wrath on the butler.

Sebastian was thin, slight of build, a nervous, shifty type of man, open to manipulation. Even before Kazuya had entered, grabbing him by the collar and lifting him off his feet, the unfortunate man had been wearing a look that suggested impending doom on his pale, drawn face.

" Just what manner of man are you, to submit yourself to the destructive whims of a mere child!" The elder Mishima's voice now boomed, bouncing off the thin walls, making all three youngsters wince. " And then to leave her in the charge of other children!" The shaken butler fell into a pattern of incomprehensible splutters and stutters that was effortlessly drowned by Kazuya's powerful baritone.

Jin, sensing danger, laid a restraining hand on his father's free arm, and Kazuya finally relented, casting Sebastian away from him with a look of open disgust. " You had better start praying that the child is recovered safely , or you will have the most severe of reckless endangerment charges to answer to, " he snarled.

This last line seemed to animate Rang, and he timidly came up to the Mishimas and, dangling a round locket on a gold chain before them, he tentatively began, " I found this on the floor when I woke up. It's Lili's."

Jin took it from him, gazed at the tiny figure of a swan etched in the middle and sadly recalled that Christie had mentioned this locket; that it had belonged to Lili's mother.

" We ought to notify the police now, " he said softly, turning his gaze heavenwards. " I... um..." he glanced at Rang and Steve, then up at his father. " I have somebody in mind."

The small party trouped out.

XXXXXXX

It was in Kazuya's black Porsche, and under his own very careful scrutiny, that Rang made the call to the LAPD Headquarters, asking to speak to a Detective Lei Wulong. In a hushed and subdued voice, the red-head briefly recounted all that had transpired, from the staged kidnapping that had the police running around in confusion, to the genuine one that had taken place less than an hour ago.

The three boys then spent a cold, miserable night away from the comfort of their warm, inviting beds, trapped in a small harshly-lit intorregation room with a Lei Wulong who was very different from the genial fellow who had cheerfully talked them through the school demonstration only a few days ago. This Lei Wulong admonished, coaxed and threatened them, all crisp and business-like, a combination of tactics law enforcers often use when faced with delicate situations involving minors. Only in the small hours of morning, when he felt he'd wrung every little detail he could from them( which was by no means enough to do his job), did he allow them to be driven to their respective homes by a subordinate.

Jin could not, and would not, sleep. He sat on his bed, in the dark, hugging his knees to his chest, fervently praying to all the divine entities he had ever known or deferred to. He prayed to God, to Buddha, to Allah, to Christ and the Virgin and a host of other Christian saints he had heard of in passing, even to the nameless but omnipresent 'spirits' that Julia Chang and her mother spoke of with reverence. And his prayers consisted of one single heartfelt entreaty.

_Please let Lili be safe... Please...._

XXXXXXX

By ten o'clock the next morning, Jin found himself struck by yet another bout of conscience. He wanted to meet Mr Rochefort in person, he told his father, and he wanted to apologise sincerely for the unforgiveable part he'd played in the whole mess, and for causing him so much undue pain. Kazuya shook his head, yet found himself breaking off his morning meetings to drive Jin and Rang( he had insisted that his Korean friend repent, too), to the headquarters of Rochefort Enterprises, which, in his grief, Mr Rochefort had closed down for business.

Jin noticed the presence of several unmarked police vehicles that were carefully patrolling the perimeter of the building, as the three of them entered and breezed past the empty polished marble reception. The uppermost floor, where Mr Rochefort had his office, was equally deserted, though the desks in the offices they passed were crammed with paperwork and the phones were ringing off the hooks. This produced a profoundly eerie effect and Jin was glad when they finally made it to Mr Rochefort's office, even though he was not sure that he could stomach what was to come.

The spacious, richly decorated room was packed with unexpected characters. Detective Lei Wulong presided, flanked by a couple of aides from the LAPD. Other law enforcement representatives were in attendance as well: a handful of people had Interpol tags, while the two forbidding men who stood in one corner, judging by their formal, smart attire, could only be Feds. Jin and Rang exchanged stricken glances and swallowed: If such high-profile people had been called in to rectify the mess the two of them had started, it only meant that they were in for a boatload of trouble, when time was found to deal with them. And of course, there was Mr Rochefort himself.

Jin could see that Mr Rochefort had once been one of those men in whom an illustrious European ancestry instills a proud, regal bearing. Now, the grief that had successfully worked its tendrils around him made him look like a tired old man. His face was unshaven, haggard and raw, his eyes red-rimmed, his thinning hair peppered liberally with grey. His once immaculate Armani suit was crumpled and dust ridden, his collar undone, his tie loose, his Italian loafers scuffed, and though he ought to have been wearing two diamond cufflinks, one of them had fallen at one time or another, though he appeared to take no notice. Even at a distance, he reeked of alcohol, and Jin could tell that he had been pouring himself generous measures of Scotch from a crystal decanter, from the bar at the other end of the room. Jin once again stared at the faded handsome features, and imagined that every etch time had wrought there had been made twice as deep by each day of Lili's continued absence.

And Jin realised one thing with a clarity that shattered all illusion: This was not a man in love with his bank account, with his Rolex, or his Rolls Royce. This was a man whose true loyalties were to his blood. And Lili had wronged him by testing those loyalties to such an extent. And he had wronged him even more, playing along like a perfect idiot.

He bowed his head as Detective Lei Wulong looked towards him, whispering solicitously in Mr Rochefort's ears. No open accusations were thrown at him or Rang, but they hung there in the air and made it rank.

Then the phone rang.

The loud intake of breath that swept the room told Jin that this was what everyone had been waiting for: Contact from the real kidnappers, at last.

Almost everyone hovered around it anxiously and once again Lei whispered to the bereaved father, this time instructions on how to proceed with the conversation. He pressed the speaker-phone button and drew back.

" Quite a party you have here," a cold snide voice issued from the machine, speaking slowly and precisely in heavily accentuated English. " Local cops, Feds, Interpol, and...what is this? Children? Could it be that you Feds scout for agents that young?"

The professionals in the room froze. " They can see us! They're watching!" Lei hissed to his counterparts. He growled commands to the LAPD scouts scattered around the building through his police radio.

"Don't be so rash, Detective!" The voice laughed, as though it were admonishing a child. " You can never get to me."

Jin felt compelled to contribute his help. He turned to Lei. " Could he have bugged this office?"

Once again, the room rang with the voice's laughter. " Clever boy! But unfortunately, it's in the Feds' job description to watch out for these tactics, so no. Hmm... " The voice seemed contemplative for a moment." So are you and the other boy friends of the Mademoiselle Rochefort's? You seem the right age."

Jin made to answer, but Rang abruptly shoved him away and cried out, " So you're not the prick who hit me on the head, since you don't recognise me, even. How many pricks does your gang have in total then, huh?"

There was a rustle among the professionals in the room and an appreciative pause from the mystery voice. " This one is clever too, but I do not like his tone. If he speaks again, he will find himself in the unfortunate predicament of having no head."

A collective gasp came from the men gathered and even Rang gaped dumbly. Lei Wulong merely smiled without humour.

" Rifle scope, huh? That's how you can see us? Well, I'm sure you've got a little getaway route planned, so I won't bother chasing you now. So let's cut to the chase. Your demands?"

" Five hundred million, " The voice replied briskly. " It's a pittance to what the Rochefort Enterprises's yearly income is, I'm sure. "

"Time and Place?" Lei countered.

" To be disclosed only to those who would deliver."

" And who might those be?" Lei pressed. He'd heard it all before, Jin noticed, in one form or another.

"Well," the voice began with an extra touch of snideness. " I'm sure the two boys gathered here with you wouldn't want to be deprived of their chance to rescue their damsel in distress. So it'll be them. "

Lei frowned. Well, Jin thought, that last part seemed new to him.

" You have one hour to secure the required sum. Mr Rochefort, those boys are in greater need of your cellphone than you are, so please give it to them, I'm sure they will return it in admirable condition." Another cold laugh. " I expect the boys to be on the move and awaiting my instructions within the hour."

And he hung up.

XXXXXXX

" You'll see to it that they go, Detective, and are watched over from a safe distance by your units, " Kazuya growled quietly and authoritatively from his corner where he stood with his arms folded. " After all, they instigated all this. They may as well repent."

Lei Wulong and the suits looked at him incredulously. Mr Rochefort had no say in the matter, since he had long gone to see to the money, and neither did the two boys. " They're just _KIDS_! Do you know what the media will do when they find out that we've had to use kids? They'll have a field day! Oh, and not to mention our superiors!"

"Hmph, ethics, " Kazuya muttered with contempt. He looked at Lei and his eyes smouldered. " But I happen to trust my son with my own life, Detective, and this other boy here, he is far more streetwise than the entire Bureau." He waved dismissively at the two Feds, who bristled indignantly. " Besides, you haven't much time. And you haven't much clues, either. Your superiors and the public will have you anyway. I imagine, though, that you would rather go down with a fight?"

Jin smiled. His father could convince the President to resign his post, if he wished. He saw Lei caving in.

" Alright, alright," the detective said grudgingly, then addressed the room at large. " We've already had people from the Interpol and Bureau construct profiles for the kidnappers. Now we know that at least one of them is Eastern European, we're even closer to the mark. We've also drawn up profiles for possible hostage exchange points. We've done our homework." He glanced anxiously at Jin and Rang. " Now it's time for you to do yours." He held up his police radio. " Wulong here. I want an APB out on an Eastern European kidnapping ring, info's gonna be in in a few minutes from our databases. I also want as many unmarked poilce vehicles dispatched to all the locations our profilers drew up. They're to monitor them for any suspicious activities and to take action when needed. And I want a team of four vehicles and six plain-clothes officers out on the trail of the two boys that are gonna be used in the Rochefort exchange. They're to stay a distance of two hundred yards behind them." He put the radio away. " Best of luck, boys."

XXXXXXX

Jin and Rang were bent double, catching their breaths and nursing painful stitches. They had been running around for perhaps half an hour, taking it in turns to heft the cumbersome suitcase full of cash, and to answer the cellphone whenever it rang-and it rang often. They had so far followed the instructions of the snide voice to the letter, and had no doubt long lost the poor police affiliates tailing them- and the place of exchange had still not been disclosed.

"Okay," Rang began, panting heavily, and leaning back against a graffitied wall." This... this thing... it ain't gonna work. Maybe they're just planning to tire us out, and then they'll come out and kill us, and kill Lili, and keep the money, huh? And of course they had us shake off the cops- and those cops are so damn stupid! They could've just bugged us or something, to keep up with our location."

"They couldn't, " Jin replied, eyes closed. " That man was watching. If they did it in plain sight of him, or if they tried to take us out of his sight, he would have shot us on the spot. They probably have their people in the building too."

"Which brings us back to sniper dude, " Rang pressed, an edge of hysteria entering his voice. " How the hell are we gonna get away once we get to wherever the hell it is we're supposed to be going? I dunno about you, but it's kinda hard to walk around without a head."

Jin grimaced. " He can't be watching us all the time. Not in person. Can you imagine how hard it would be for him? Unless he can jump from one rooftop to another, it's impossible."

Rang rolled his eyes. He straightened up and pounded the wall with his fist. " So he's got his people posted everywhere that he tells us to run to? That supposed to make it better for us?"

Jin shook his head. " Look around. Your home's pretty close. Our trump card's in your garage."

Rang's eyes lit up. " Master Baek's bike, huh? "

" And the helmets too..."

XXXXXXX

The two boys hadn't been roaring along the streets for two minutes, wearing the protective helmets, their bodies bent to present as little target points as possible, than the cellphone rang once more. Rang stopped and killed the engine, and Jin took the call.

" A little birdie just told me about all the little accessories you have gained access to," the snide voice drawled in amusement. " I thought the terms of our agreement were clear? You were to make your way to us _on foot_ . I have a right mind to splatter your pretty little _copine_'s brains all over her pretty little white dress."

Jin steeled himself and repeated the words he and Rang had agreed on. " The way we see it, we're doing you a big favour. We're not trained marathon runners, and if we keep stopping for breath, the cops will catch up to us. This way we can get you your money, double quick, and put as much distance between us and the cops." And he waited for the response with baited breath.

The voice snorted. " If I didn't know better, I would have thought you two had been prepped by the Feds before you left. Well, well, that makes me all the more eager to look upon your faces for one last time before it's all over... You are quite close now."

XXXXXXX

_Warehouse district, at the waterfront_

Jin and Rang stopped a safe distance from the run-down No. 7 and disembarked, cautiously looking around. Jin surreptitiously indicated to Rang the rooftop of No. 4, to which they had their backs, and from which their snide-voiced sniper friend was no doubt watching. The two boys drew closer together and looked towards the black sedan that was parked right in front of No. 7. The back door flew open and a man in a black sweater, khaki pants and a balaclava, stepped out, pushing the stumbling, frightened figure of Lili Rochefort before him. A similarly clad figure emerged from the driver's door. Lili's captor stood her near the car, and loosely pointed a gun to her temple.

Jin's heart leapt at the sight of Lili, her dress soiled, her bruised face sporting fresh teartracks, but otherwise unharmed. He held up the briefcase of money in the direction of her captor, and communicated with her with his eyes. He and Rang had already agreed on a course of action, and as he silently relayed his assurances to her, he felt something else begin to collect within her at the sight of the two boys whom she had alienated come to save her life at great risk; something less primal and more human than fear. He saw her clench her fists and draw back her upper lip, poised for something. He inwardly smiled.

Then he and Rang let out ferocious yells and rushed the two kidnappers, ducking, dodging, weaving, swerving, conducting every move of the dance Detective Lei Wulong had demonstrated at their school with perfect precision, still wearing their helmets, playing a game of dodgeball against the hail of bullets that came at them from No. 4's rooftop, the bullets that zinged dangerously close to their ears and that narrowly missed their backs.

In the ensuing confusion, Lili let out her own battlecry and, with the skill and grace of a natural born _danceur_, she pivoted on her heel, twisted out of her captor's grasp and rammed her knee into his stomach. Narrowly avoiding the gun's discharge, her leg came up once more and kicked the weapon out of the reeling man's hand. The second kidnapper came at her, but she had just enough time to dance away from his grasp with a yelp, before Jin checked his progress with a powerful body slam that knocked him off balance. Jin, seeing that this was not enough to bring him down, aimed a low kick at him, sweeping his feet from underneeth him and toppling him to the ground. He threw himself at his victim with relish and kept him nailed in that position with a powerful pinhold on his arm. He looked up at Lili and cried, " Quick, inside!"

Lili spared him a single backward glance as she hurried into the safety of the No.7 warehouse. The first kidnapper whom she had overcome cried after her, and bent down by the car to retrieve the gun that had fallen close to one of the wheels, but Rang was suddenly perched on the sedan's roof. With a single fluid motion, he brought his left heel crashing down on the back of the man's head, and, as an afterthought, slammed the sedan's still-open door into the man's face. The force of the double impact was such that the kidnapper crumpled to the ground without a sound.

" Sweet dreams, Prince!" Rang exulted. He was on his feet in a flash, and punching the air in triumph. " That takes care of that!"

Jin, tired of his own victim's struggles, relinquished his hold for a moment long enough to thrust his elbow violently onto the latter's forehead, and as he felt him going limp, he glanced back at the rooftop of No. 4, then, sensing extreme danger, cried out to Rang to watch out.

Jin heard a faint pop, and then the reddest of roses was suddenly blooming across Rang's chest. The red-headed boy made a muted guttural sound, his mouth a perfect 'o'; he swayed for a split-second, then toppled backwards, his arms outstretched; he slid down the hood of the car, and fell onto the ground and out of sight.

"RAAAANG!!!!"

Jin's scream was carried on a tidal wave of terror, as he flew to his friend's side, ignoring the sudden cacophony of voices and shots that came from the rooftop of No.4. He saw that, miraculously, the wound didn't seem to be fatal, that Rang was moaning faintly. He rushed into the warehouse to retrieve Lili, and when he came out, pulling her by the hand, he saw that his father, along with various law enforcement agenst, had arrived at the scene.

Kazuya knelt beside Rang, applying pressure to the wound to staunch the bleeding. Jin and Lili came over, and Lili, seeing the Korean's condition, began to sob, her hand fluttering to her mouth, " But zere iz so much blood!"

" No bleeding from the mouth; no organs ruptured. Be grateful Detective Wulong arrived at the crucial moment to disrupt the marksman's aim, or this boy would have been beyond saving," Kazuya said coldly, not stopping his efforts. " The helmets were a sound idea, Jin, " he continued, not looking at his son, as he removed the contraption from Rang's head. " Better be shot in the chest than the head. He is dead now, that sharpshooter, " he finished in response to Jin's unasked question. " and the rest of this ring scattered across the city have been apprehended."

Rang began to stir feebly, his eyelids fluttering. " Don't you move, boy, " Kazuya cautioned. " Or you will go into shock earlier than we'd like." He removed his trenchcoat and carefully bundled it around the prone boy. " The ambulance should be here any minute"

As if on cue, Jin could hear the wailing sirens in the close distance. When it arrived, Rang's blood drenched form was loaded onto a stretcher, and with a curt nod, Kazuya indicated that both Jin and Lili should accompany the Korean to the hospital.

XXXXXXX

Jin and Lili had been sitting in the waiting room for fifteen minutes, her sobs the only thing that punctuated the silence between them, when Lili finally decided to take the first courageous step.

"You must 'ate me, now, za 'ole lot of you. And Papa even more," she began in a tiny voice that gained volume and pitch with every word.

Jin sighed and looked at her with a combination of weariness and pity. " That's just silly and you know it, Lili."

But she went on as though she hadn't heard, " I never meant for any of zis to 'appen!" And she gestured desperately in the direction of the room where Rang was still being operated on.

"But it happened. And everything happens for a reason, and the reason in this case is that so you could see for yourself how much we love and care for you, rushing to your help like that; how much your father aged without you. So you see now?" He looked at her hopefully.

She said nothing, but her shoulders trembled, and so Jin steeled himself and laid a calming hand on her left shoulder. She didn't reject his touch, which he saw as a sign of encouragement. " Last time we spoke, " he began, " You said I didn't understand. That I could never understand. Well ,we're here now, with this one experience we just had sitting between us, and I hope to God that you'll try to make me understand."

Lili did not respond for a while, then her shoulders dipped further, and without looking at him, she began in a quiet, mournful voice, " What do you want me to talk about? Ze two out of twelve birzdays of mine zat Papa showed up for? Ze dresses and skirts he buys me, all eizer too big or too small, ze toys he sends me, all of which I 'ave outgrown? Zat on ze celebration of my name day, an 'undred people showed up, eencluding all ze members of our church, but my own dear Papa was not one of zem?"

Jin found himself floundering in Lili's painful recollections, and what his mother had once told him, about how a neglected child is always more damaged than an abused one, rang perfectly true in his mind. " Ooooh, Lili!" he sighed, unconsciously patting her back. She seemed largely taken aback by his reaction, he noticed, as he gathered his wits for something to say in response.

" Listen, Lili, " he said, willing a tenderness and intimacy into his voice that he only used with his twin, Asuka. " It's going to be alright with your father. You've made your point to him loud and clear. You'll be able to have more time to bond with him, because the whole thing with our fathers competing is gonna go away, I can promise you that..." Lili's face registered open shock at that, " but in the meantime, I need promises from you. That you won't act ugly to anyone at school, that you won't try to shut us out of your life, and that you'll come to me with anything that bothers you. Promise me, Lili, so we can turn a new page." His hand closed firmly around hers, slipping into it the round locket with the little swan.

Lili suddenly shuddered, her frame wracked by fresh sobs. " Ooohh, you're something else!!!" She went on like that for a few minutes, and he waited for her to finish. She suddenly stopped crying and looked away. "_ Desole, je suis vraiment desole...So sorry..._" She murmured at the wall. Then she turned back to him, her eyes no longer betraying any haughtiness or even loss, just sadness and sincerity and a great desire to have something in which to believe. " So you will protect me from zis world?"

Jin considered for a moment. " Since you put it that way, yeah, I guess I'll be doing just that." And he smiled at her warmly.

She pushed back her blonde hair and gave him a watery smile in return. He reached out tentatively and flicked away a tear that threatened to spill down her cheek. Once more met with no resistance, he vaguely wondered whether he was the first individual to be allowed such intimacy around her.

" Well," she unexpectedly chirped. " zis experience... defending myself from za one who had me...I must confess... I _liked_ zat... standing up for myself. I sink zat I might take up fighting, and enter zat tournament Rang iz always talking about. Yes, I should very much like to do zat..." she finished pensively.

Just then, footsteps sounded in the hall, and Mr Rochefort appeared. Lili gave a shriek, jumped up and hurled herself into his welcoming arms. Father and daughter began to jabber away in rapid-fire French, apologies and entreaties and assurances of love, Jin could tell, despite not understanding a word. The scene moved him. He looked to the still-closed doors of the operating room.

XXXXXXX

_Three days later_

It seemed that Rang would be making a full recovery, his doctors told Jin and the rest, as the Korean sat up in bed in a room that was piled high with presents, ravenously consuming spoon after spoon of Mrs Mishima's chocolate fudge. Even Aunt Anna's cookies and milkshakes, as bored of them as he was, were heaven compared to the vile concoctions of herbal medicines he had received from Julia Chang and her mother, and Ling Xiaoyu and her grandfather. But his favourite present lay reverently on his pillow, an old LAPD badge that Detective Lei had owned from the days when he'd been a rookie officer, and had recently, and affectionately, bequeathed to Rang in honour of his 'first meaningful service to society'.

After days of his friends' and their mothers' waiting on him hand and foot, Rang finally declared that the person who'd first said that good guys always end up last was a douche. He was in such a good mood that not even Kazuya's remark to him earlier, before the elder Mishima had left the ward( " I've wasted a perfectly good trenchcoat on you, so if you don't hurry up and make a full recovery, I'm going to kill you myself.") managed to dampen his spirits.

"Oh, yeah," Rang suddenly blurted, the spoon dangling between his teeth. " Lili came by yesterday. She's doing great; she left on a tour of Europe with her old man, in their private jet, last night. She sends you her kisses, Mish-Mash."

Jin raised his eyebrows, and Rang scowled, dropping the spoon onto the tray. " Don't get your hopes up, Mish-Mash; I ain't kissing you for her!"

The room rang with the children's laughter.

XXXXXXX

"You wanted to see me, Pa?"

Jin stood in his father's study, his hands clasped behind his back. Kazuya was standing at his desk, hunched over some paper work. He looked up at his son's voice.

" Yes... You asked me to do something about the competition between myself and Mr Rochefort, and I did. I'm afraid I even went a little further than either of us had intended. This morning I made the proposition of a merger between our two companies, to Rochefort Enterprises. The paperwork is right at this moment sitting on Mr Rochefort's desk, awaiting his signature whenever he feels fit to return from Europe."

Jin released a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding. " Ooh, Pa!"

Kazuya raised a dismissive hand. " Yes, monopoly of the markets is not worth one little girl's wellbeing...No need to thank me... In fact," he paused, and seemed suddenly struck by a thought. " It was _her _who destroyed the clipper ship, wasn't it?"

"Yes, " Jin replied with some hesitation.

Kazuya smiled thinly and regarded him with an expression that Jin couldn't place. He sighed. " You're a good friend, Jin. A good son, too. Sometimes, I think of you as my conscience, as I thought and still think of your mother. Let it be known to you how proud I am to be able to call you my son."

He'd said it with such simple sincerity that it touched Jin on more than one level, but when he opened his mouth to return the compliment, his father held up a hand, forestalling him.

"Nothing else needs to be said."

With that, Jin understood himself to be dismissed.

"Good day, Pa."

XXXXXXX


End file.
